Sudden Complications of Life
by Ace.x.Luffy.x.Zoro
Summary: Bartolomeo gets pushed from an everyday highschool-routine into a new, odd, and sometimes stupid life.. with Luffy in it. (fem!Luffy, fem!Usopp, No Yaoi...mainly XD)
1. Chapter 1

**_~ + I'll have you know that this 'ere story was requested and co-written by _**_Janshal_**_. fem!Luffy and fem!Usopp alert ~ +_**

* * *

Sudden Complications of Life

**1.**

Bartolomeo's life was simple; wake up, eat food, shower/stuff, school, nap, afternoon-stroll, homework, sleep.

On the weekend, it was just a bit less organized; wake up, eat food, shower/stuff, ...friend-time?, party-till-you-black-out, sleep.

However, it was a new school year at New World Academy, and everyone knew what that meant. There would be totally new schedules, the same exact (with some new) student council members, new teachers, and last but definitely not least.. new students. Each of these new-things would always present the same overall problems concerning adapting to the changes and dealing with personal problems at the same time.

At New World, freshmen were considered 'new kids', too, just because. There were still the new-new kids, of course... they just had to be new-er than the freshmen.

To be honest, teachers are teachers are teachers, so, most of the kids just automatically despised the new teachers just for their occupation. Therefore, tons of pressure from the students made the teachers try especially hard to earn themselves at least a decent reputation.

The student council, though small, controlled a major portion of the activities and clubs at New World, and were practically feared by all.

The schedules- eh. The changes were just as annoying as the teachers, but at least they don't kill.. like some people.

* * *

First day of Bartolomeo's sophomore year

"Bartolomeo?"

Said teenager snored and rolled over in his bed.

"Bartolomeo!?"

Bartolomeo sat up quickly in a panic and fell off his bed onto the tan carpet. Brushing a stubborn mess of green hair out of his face as he stretched and righted himself again, Bartolomeo was nearly hit by his bedroom door when his urgent mother came charging in to find her half-naked sophomore-son sitting on the floor when the alarm clock read 8:04 A.M. - 4 minutes late for school.

"I can't believe you! Get up, get dressed, and get out the door, kid!"

Bartolomeo sleepily yawned and nodded, standing up straight after a second or two. In moments, Bartolomeo's mom was chucking clothes at him and pushing him into the bathroom.

Slipping on the bathroom tile on his bare feet did not help when attempting to brush his teeth and comb his hair all at once.

Once the finishing touches (a.k.a golden piercings) were in place, Bartolomeo grabbed his bookbag off of the living room floor and was out the door.

"Late on the first day I see," the front office-lady told Bartolomeo as she handed him his first tardy pass of the year. Bartolomeo shrugged with a smirk and turned on his heel to go to his locker when the lady called him back.

"Hey, kid, my name's Shakki (just so you know)."

"Okay..?" Bartolomeo tossed over his shoulder, giving the busty secretary a second look. She caught his glance with an odd luring one.

"Mind helping out the new lady, tough-stuff?" Shakki called, resting her head on her palm. Bartolomeo turned to face her in his dark cargo pants, boots and purple tank-top, looking but a little too eager to 'help' her.

_"Dear god, its the first day and I'm getting the hot chick?!" _Bartolomeo thought to himself, licking his lips as he walked fully into the office. That's when the green-haired punk saw the other person in the office; a student. Shakki laughed at him.

The student, Monkey D. Luffy, sat on a chair further back in the office, twirling a strand of hair around her blue-nailed finger as she gazed at anything and everything in the office. Bartolomeo couldn't help but wonder if the girl was mental or something.. but, he didn't want to be _too _rude to the kid; lie.

"This is little miss Luffy-chan," Shakki explained, stepping to place her hands on Luffy's shoulders and bring the kid back to reality, "if you hadn't already noticed, she's a bit confused, as a new kid should be. Why don't you help her out? ..for me?"

"_Such a bitch.." _  
"Yeah, I guess," Bartolomeo muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets as Luffy stumbled to her feet with her _Kill la Kill _backpack on. Stepping up next to her new classmate, Luffy nearly broke her neck attempting to look up at Bartolomeo's face. Bartolomeo smirked in amusement.

"Orders from Principal Shanks, you know, so thanks, uh..." Shakki started, returning back to her chair as the other two turned to leave.

"Bartolomeo," he replied curtly, steering Luffy by her shoulders out of the office and down the main hallway. The only problem was, the hallway was almost too deserted and quiet to try and talk. After a few awkward moments of silence, standing in the middle of the hall, Bartolomeo blinked and looked down at Luffy; one thing caught his attention.

"_Nice curves_.."

"Bartolomeo?" Luffy asked, blinking up at Bartolomeo's green eyes. Blinking back, Bartolomeo's mind whirled.

"Uh, what?"

"Whatcha looking at~?" Luffy pushed further, standing on her tip-toes to try and match her classmate's height. This didn't work too well. Luffy lost her balance, flailed like a chicken, and then was caught at the last second by a blushing Bartolomeo.

"_I don't like her.. I don't know why, but I don't." _

Pulling the lady back onto her feet, Bartolomeo only grumbled under his breath and then realized that he should've probably been leading Luffy to her locker.

"Thanks, rooster-head-kun," Luffy chirped, latching onto Bartolomeo's arm. Bartolomeo cringed and slithered his arm away from her grasp, turning away from her.

"Yeah.. what's your locker number?"

"Locker number?"

"_Don't tell me-" _

"I don't know," Luffy mused, putting a thoughtful finger to her pink lip. Bartolomeo looked over his shoulder at her and then sighed. Turning back to face her, Bartolomeo grabbed her arm and pulled her along to his locker, passing quiet classrooms and hallways along the way. Luffy was thoroughly confused, but at least somewhat interested in the new atmosphere.

Upon arriving at his locker, Bartolomeo spun the lock a few times and then opened his new locker. Bartolomeo took the things out of his own bookbag and shoved it all into his locker, except for the first 3 periods' worth of items; bookbag went in the locker. Bartolomeo turned to Luffy who had calmly and sneakily decided to take a seat on the floor next to him, accidentally flashing her red and white stripped panties from under her hot pink skirt.

Looking away from her, Bartolomeo shook his head at her naïveté.

"_Too innocent... god." _

"Um.. lemme see your schedule," Bartolomeo mumbled, holding his hand out to her while Luffy quickly fished through the things in her bookbag. Soon items were spread out on the floor surrounding Bartolomeo's locker. After a few minutes, the schedule was found and promptly handed to the taller of the two.

Bartolomeo scanned his and Luffy's schedules, and... they were in the same grade with the same schedule.

Now, even though he may not act like it, or look like it, Bartolomeo was pretty intelligent in school and got relatively good grades. Bartolomeo then looked at Luffy, higher-up, for a moment and doubted that she could be in all his higher classes.

Oh well.

Bartolomeo sighed again in annoyance and began stacking Luffy's 1-2-3-4 period books on top of his own books. Luffy blinked and watched intently, switching positions to sit on her heels. The rest of Luffy's stuff was crammed into Bartolomeo's locker, and bookbag, and Luffy's backpack was the only thing that was neatly resting on top of everything.

From afar, the locker was.. a gravitational masterpiece.

"_This is going to be an annoying-as-fuck kinda day, isn't it Bartolomeo?"  
"Yes, yes it will be Bartolomeo."  
"Well damn." _

"Let's get going then," Bartolomeo decided, taking the large stack of books into his arms while Luffy stood next to him holding nothing.

"Okay!"

A little ways down the hallway, Luffy trotted up beside Bartolomeo and tugged on his tank top.

"_What is she, a kid?" _

"Um.."

"What?"

"I need to go pee.."

"_Yeah... I need to just stayyyy calmmm.."  
"_Alright.."

With one hand steering Luffy quickly down the hallways again, the two almost took out the janitor, (who yelled at Bartolomeo for his nose ring).

The girls' bathroom sign was like heaven to Luffy's eyes, and in a second she was in there, leaving Bartolomeo awkwardly standing outside it with a day's worth of school books pressed against his chest.

Looking up at the ceiling, Bartolomeo was secretly happy for the blessing of a real excuse for missing class, even if it was a completely and utterly embarrassing and annoying.

"_I bet it's all just an act.. which makes it even more annoying. What kinda girl would want to act like that?" _

Flush.

_"She would, I guess." _

"Rooster-head, I-!"

"Wash your hands."

Bartolomeo glared down Luffy till she blinked up at him and slowly shuffled back into the bathroom and washed her hands.

"_I swear... if I have to do this everyday, Imma hafta start smokin' again.." _

Faucet off.

Luffy skipped out of the bathroom with a grin like she was ready to take on the world, and she stopped right in front of Bartolomeo as if reporting for duty. Then, the dripping ensued; Luffy didn't dry her hands.. so she just pulled up her skirt and used that!

Having enough of the unintentional-flashing, Bartolomeo pulled down her skirt with his free hand, a grimace of sorts on his face.

"For god's sake, use my shirt, or anything besides your skirt!"

Luffy stuck her tongue out at Bartolomeo and put her wet hands on the side of Bartolomeo's left pocket, smiling childishly in the process. Bartolomeo bit his lip to keep from losing patience with the 'child'.

"Before I forget, senpai," Luffy started softly, suddenly afraid of summoning Bartolomeo's wrath, "thank you for helping me! I know I can be a bother, but I hope that I can make it up to you someday! Friends?"

Bartolomeo blinked.

"Uh.. sure.."

"_Something profound was just said. I should remember this.. and she called me 'senpai'!" _

"It's no problem, uh.. Luffy.." Bartolomeo mumbled, shoving his hand into his.. wet pocket. He cringed inside. Luffy pouted and grabbed his arm again, grabbing the taller one's attention as well.

"Don't lie to me, senpai!"

"Huh?"

"I'm a bother to you and you know it.. so don't say that I'm not. I don't like liars," Luffy concluded with a nod. Bartolomeo opened his mouth to object, and then he realized..

"_Was I honestly just about to try and make her feel better? Since when do _I _do that?" _

"Senpai? Shouldn't we get to class now? It's almost 8:35." Luffy announced suddenly, bending at the hip to read Bartolomeo's black wristwatch. Bartolomeo gasped, which sounded more like a hiss, and he then hurried off to 1st period with Luffy still at his arm.

After all, what if he missed some new hot babe's introduction?

* * *

There were a few new kids in Bartolomeo and Luffy's class, but not many. There was a girl, Jewelry Bonney, who was looked-over by Boa Hancock the entire class period.

There was also a green-haired guy with a weird name, Zoro, who was pretty quiet but he seemed tough enough. Luffy wound up talking to Zoro for the last 5 minutes of 1st period, and apparently wanted to walk with him to their next class.

Zoro got lost.

Luffy got lost.

Bartolomeo was sent to go find them.

After that, Luffy told Zoro that it was okay to walk with Bartolomeo and her to their shared classes, which was only 2. Zoro agreed. Bartolomeo never got a say in the matter..

After 2nd, 3rd and 4th period Bartolomeo had to clamp down on Luffy's wrist and barge through the crowds in the hallway to ensure time for mistakes.

In 3rd period, Luffy met Nami and Ursela (fem!Usopp), who were trying out for cheerleading the next day. They convinced Luffy to try out, too. Bartolomeo was apparently to attend this 'momentous occasion'.

Fourth period wasn't so bad... oh who am I kidding? An expert in womanizing by the name of Sanji attempted to flatter the daylights out of poor Luffy who only blinked and grinned in confusion, sending Bartolomeo into an unexpected protective mode. Bartolomeo's friends Kidd and Killer gave him raised eyebrows and smirks.

Bartolomeo sent them the finger when he got the chance.

During lunch, Luffy and Zoro decided to sit with Bartolomeo (who still had all the books with him), Kidd and Killer. Luffy was constantly talking to Bartolomeo about everything and anything, and eventually spilled too much for the other four's liking.

"Oh oh, and when I was 15, (I'm 16 now!), I had this boyfriend, Rob Lucci, and I thought he was realllly nice and awesome and strong, you know, all that amazing stuff! But, then he started touching me and stuff, and I just thought 'oh whatever', but, he started hurting me, and soon everyone gave me weird looks, and Lucci just kept on doing that stuff. Soon, Grandpa pulled me out and talked to me, and he started crying when I told him about it, and so then Grandpa turned Lucci in to the police. We went to that reaaaally big pretty court-place, not the basketball court, mind you, and then I had to talk about it againnnn, and then I never saw Lucci again! Grandpa said that it was better that way, but, now Grandpa's gone, so I guess I really don't _have _to think that way, but maybe he was right.. I don't know!"

Everyone at the table stared at Luffy with wide eyes. She just spilled her guts over something that could've ruined her life, but her she was, stupid and happy as ever. Her story made everyone shut up and think about it..

"You said.. he went to jail?" Zoro asked quietly. Luffy nodded with a grin.

"How old was this 'Rob Lucci' then?" Bartolomeo asked with an eye-roll, folding his arms over his chest. Luffy sat back and bit her lip as she thought about it, puffing out her cheeks.

"18 maybe? I don't remember!" Luffy finally decided with a nod. Kidd and Killer looked at each other and then back at Luffy. The poor girl! Maybe underneath that baby-blue ruffled shirt of hers there were scars from the bastard.

"You said 'now Grandpa's gone'?" Killer asked, lifting his head from drinking from his bottle of water. Luffy cocked her head and nodded. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that he passed away a month or so ago," Luffy explained with furrowed brows, not understanding why they didn't understand her. The others all nodded seriously, looking down at their food with no appetite whatsoever. Luffy, meanwhile, inhaled her food and was soon done and all over Bartolomeo again, who was trying desperately to scoot away from her. He nearly fell off the bench.

"Ah, uhh, oh yeah, why don't you go figure out what your locker number and combination are? Better now than never...!" Bartolomeo said on the fly, helping Luffy out of the bench and towards the door. Luffy blinked up at him and smiled, saluting him as she walked out of the cafeteria.

Bartolomeo sighed in relief as he walked back to the table, hands in pockets. Kidd and Killer eyed him while Zoro ate quietly.

"She's hiding something," Kidd said after a minute of awkward silence. All four could agree on that.

Minutes later, Luffy came marching back to their table, looking happy as ever.

"You find it?" Bartolomeo asked Luffy. Luffy shook her head with a grin.

"I got lost!"

"Don't be proud 'bout it!"

* * *

~ + Thanks for reading me and Janshal's first chapter! :D Tell me what you thought~~~? XD + ~


	2. Chapter 2

Sudden Complications of Life

**2.**

"What kinda school starts off the year on a Thursday?"

"Ours.."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be complaining, since it's just closer to the weekend! Party!"

"I guess.. a Friday cheerleading tryout is sorta nice.. if you don't make it, then just go party it away, right?"

"Not like we won't make it though!"

"Hahaha, right!"

Bartolomeo couldn't take it anymore- listening to stuck-up wannabe-models at a cheerleading tryout was certainly not on his to-do list, yet there he was. Meanwhile, Luffy seemed to be nonplussed by the other girls and merely sat in between Nami&Ursela and Bartolomeo on the bleachers, waiting for their turn to impress Boa Hancock, the _gorgeous_ captain.

"NEXT!"

The next girl stepped up for inspection.

Nami, Ursela and Bartolomeo rolled their eyes as Boa looked over the frightened navy-haired girl, taking into consideration every physical feature.

"Take off your glasses," Boa instructed the girl, who fumbled them off her face and.. onto the floor. She bent over to pick them up blindly, attracting Boa's gaze to the girl's backside.

"You'll do, I guess.. just get some contacts, 'kay, uh..?"

"T-tashigi!"

"Yeah, Tashigi, good job.. NEXT!"

"I don't know whyyy I know I'll make it," Nami joked, leaning forward to stick her tongue out at Bartolomeo, who merely 'tch'ed and crossed his arms. Nami pouted.

"You're no fun.." Nami mumbled, crossing her arms like him, unintentionally. Ursela agreed with Nami. Bartolomeo rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"It's better that way, 'cause bitches like you don't deserve fun, busty or not." Nami seemed taken aback by this and fumed.

"Well, your opinions don't even matter to me, you dou-"

"NEXT!"

"It's your turn, _your highness,_" Bartolomeo noticed, pulling Nami off the bleachers by the nearest arm. Nami righted herself and flipped Bartolomeo the finger as she huffed off towards Boa. Luffy laughed at Nami and Bartolomeo's argument and leaned against Bartolomeo's side. Bartolomeo cringed, scooting over to the point where Luffy plain fell over on her side on the bleachers. Ursela looked at Luffy with pity and then up at Bartolomeo with annoyance and was soon off the bleachers and talking with another group of girls.

The remaining two were in silence for moment before Luffy yawned and sat up again.

"I wonder what Sanji's doing here," Luffy mused, pointing to the blonde at the other end of the bleachers, bleeding profusely from his nose. He had his eyes set on a girl by the name of Violet, another one of the busty new girls who were trying out for a spot on the cheerleading team.

"Searching for a new victim.. again," Bartolomeo answered, rolling his eyes for the millionth time at that tryout. Luffy nodded slowly, watching Sanji intently.

He didn't seem like _that_, though, so whoever he chose wouldn't come out of it too beat up, Luffy figured.

Luffy got lost in her memories and thoughts and ended gazing into Bartolomeo's chest and was only brought back to the real world when Bartolomeo hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder and shook a little.

"Hey.. hey, it's your turn."

"Oh. Thanks.."

Luffy hopped off the bleachers and walked toward Boa with a surprisingly normal look about her. As soon as this reached Luffy's mind, she turned on the grin again and skipped the rest of the way, landing with a jump in front of Boa who had an amused expression plastered on her face.

Boa looked Luffy over from her chair and then stood up, walking up to Luffy. She took Luffy's chin in her hand and looked into Luffy's round, chocolate eyes. Luffy blinked down her memories and concentrated on the blue color in Boa's eyes till the girl unhanded her.

"You have a spot, gorgeous. What's your name?" Boa asked, putting her hands on Luffy's shoulders gently. Luffy gulped.

"Luffy! Monkey D. Luffy!"

Luffy grinned up at Boa Hancock.

"Luffy. How oddly fitting. I like you, _Luffy.. _I'll be seeing you at our first practice, then," Boa concluded, turning Luffy back towards Bartolomeo with a shove, "NEXT!"

Bartolomeo was just a bit confused when he saw something like nervousness in Luffy's eyes, but only for a split second before she was back on the bleachers next to him, talking away like usual.

Suddenly, the talking died off and was replaced with the silence of an empty gym; the others were long gone.

"Bartolomeo.."

Bartolomeo was nervous.. he didn't know why.

"Yeah..?

"You're my friend, right?" Luffy asked, looking up at him with a longing in her eyes. Bartolomeo was ensnared and couldn't speak.

"...Right?"

"Uh.. that's kinda random, hahaha.. talking about climbing trees one minute and now this.."

"Bartolomeo." Luffy stared at Bartolomeo with that look.. that furrow-browed look of intense longing. The boy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at the ceiling.

"Why do you ask?" he finally managed to ask, looking back at Luffy in her sunshine-yellow shirt and jean-shorts. Luffy bit her cheek and looked up at the ceiling.

"Because."

"Because why?"

Because I want you to be my friend."

"Why?"

"Because."

"You're getting nowhere with this.."

Luffy closed her eyes and then looked down at the floor, pushing her hands under the backs of her knees, concentrating on her thoughts for once. To be honest, it was freaking Bartolomeo out that she was thinking something silence-worthy.

"Luffy..?"

"I.. I just need a friend, okay!" Luffy finally muttered, putting her forehead on Bartolomeo's shoulder suddenly. Bartolomeo felt like pulling away would be too terribly rude for the unusual state that the girl was in. Swimming in the silence, the young man had to make a decision..

"Then.."

Luffy looked up at him.

Bartolomeo smiled down at her and sighed, "..you've got a friend."

Luffy smiled in utter joy and buried her head in Bartolomeo's chest, wrapping him in a tight bear hug. Bartolomeo hesitantly put his arm on her shoulder, letting her know that she was safe with him.

The two would be nearly inseparable from then on.

* * *

Standing outside the gym in the warm late summer breeze with backpacks on their backs, Bartolomeo and Luffy continued their conversation there since the janitor had kicked them out of the gym. A strong gust swept Luffy's hair from behind her ears and she grinned happily, suddenly dancing down the sidewalk with the wind, laughing. Bartolomeo blinked and watched, finding himself both holding down his hair and following his confusing new friend; after picking up the bookbag that she had dropped upon beginning her dance.

"I love the summer wind!" Luffy called out to him, turning to cross a street and sending peace-signs the cars' way, with Bartolomeo hurrying behind her.

"I can see that!" Bartolomeo called back with a smirk, his pace picked up to a trot.

"Don't you like it?" Luffy asked with a grin, skipping backwards till her foot met with the edge of a curb, sending her backwards. Dropping both backpacks, Bartolomeo gritted his teeth and pushed his legs, grabbing Luffy's body just before her head would've clashed with the pavement. Luffy blinked rapidly, looking at Bartolomeo's scared-to-death pale expression.

"Dear god, are you okay?! Nearly cracked your skull there!" Bartolomeo whispered hurriedly, hauling Luffy back to her feet on the sidewalk. Luffy merely sighed and nodded her head with a smile.

"Thanks! Thought I was goner!"

"So did I.." Bartolomeo mumbled, looking down the sidewalk above Luffy's head as his heartbeat calmed down again.

They had made their way to a dead-end street with a single house at the end. It was a two-story house, looking neat and pretty in its new coat of baby-blue paint with light-green shutters. The lawn was bright green with neatly trimmed round bushes near the front porch, and lilac flowers and green hastas graced the rest of the front flower-beds. Bartolomeo picked up the backpacks again, still studying the house.

"C'mon! Let's go inside!" Luffy chirped suddenly, pulling Bartolomeo up to the house. Bartolomeo nearly fell over.

"We can't just go inside someone's house!" Bartolomeo screeched, holding firmly to Luffy's wrist. Luffy turned and gave him a confused look.

"Why not?"

"It's not yours!"

"Yes it is," Luffy countered, standing on her tip-toes. Bartolomeo couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or not.

"It really is! Uncle Shanks said that since this is just his summer house, I can use it during the school year!" Luffy explained, rocking back on her heels with a happy smile. Bartolomeo shook his head in disbelief and was soon following the girl into the beautiful house.

"You have this place to yourself?" Bartolomeo kept asking as he got the grand tour. Every time it would answered with a happy nod.

Hardwood floors, light and airy wall colors, bright and colorful furniture and accents.

It was like heaven for the eyes.

"I'm really lucky! I had no clue what I was going to do once Grandpa passed, so when Uncle Shanks told me to stay here and go to his school, I was so relieved!" Luffy announced, plopping down into her favorite red armchair while Bartolomeo chose the matching red couch across from her.

"Yeah, you're lucky to have relatives like that," Bartolomeo agreed, still looking around the living room in amazement. Luffy nodded.

"Now! D'you wanna help me with homework~?"

"I see how it is.."

"Hmm~?"

"'Course, of course."

* * *

"Hey, it's like.. 8 o'clock," Bartolomeo noticed, looking down at his watch. Luffy turned and looked at his watch too, as if he was lying to her. Luffy's stomach rumbled loudly, making Bartolomeo smirk.

"You hungry?"

"For what..?" Luffy whispered quickly, backing away slightly. Bartolomeo froze; what did he do? All he did was ask a question..? Then again..

"For a hot-"

Luffy cringed.

"-meal?"

Luffy shook her head and retreated to her chair, looking at the ground. Bartolomeo studied her body language and expression.. she was obviously nervous about something, but.. what?

"What's up with you?" he asked, knowing full well not to touch her. Touching, even if its just a pat or a gentle stroke, can send everything overboard; especially with unpredictable people.

Luffy looked up at Bartolomeo with wide eyes. The sunset coming in through the side window seemed to be caught in her brown eyes, making them light up to an amber color. Bartolomeo wasn't sure how to feel.

"I'm just wondering if you want to go with me and maybe.. uh... stuff your stomach with my mom's homemade food?"

Bartolomeo hoped that his question couldn't be misinterpreted..

"Food?" Luffy asked, perking up.

Bartolomeo nodded slowly, confused.

"You mean.. like.. real food? Noodles, chicken and vegetables-type of food?" Luffy continued, on the edge of her chair.

Bartolomeo nodded again, getting the drift.

"HELL YEAH!"

"Awesome. Let me pack up my stuff and we'll be on our way."

Luffy grinned and helped her friend put all his book back into his bag, and upon the reminder from Bartolomeo, locked up the house as they walked through the sunset to Bartolomeo's house.

* * *

"Welcome home, Bar- Oh? What did I tell you about bringing home busty girls?" Bartolomeo's mom, Makino, told him sternly, turning from the stove to glare at him.

"Mom, I can expla-"

"Mhm, that's what you say every time. So, let me hear it."

"This is Luffy. She's my... my.. friend. Luffy's my new friend. She's new at school and has had a rough.. past.. so I thought maybe a welcoming dinner would be good for her," Bartolomeo told his mother outright, gesturing back to Luffy who stood quietly in the doorway, hands clasped behind her back innocently. Makino looked her over.

"But why can't Miss Luffy have a welcoming dinner with her own family?" Makino asked, not convinced enough.

"I don't have one!" Luffy chirped, popping up beside Bartolomeo with her large happy grin. Makino went wide eyed and put a hand to her mouth while Bartolomeo stepped past her to keep the food on the stove from burning.

"I am so sorry, sweetheart.." Makino whispered, taking a confused Luffy into her loving arms, "of course you can stay here for dinner, and stay the night even! I don't care!"

Luffy processed the thoughts in her mind and decided that 'sure, why not?'.

"Okay!"

"Mom, the food..?"

"Oh, thank you."

Soon, the three were at the dinner table, feasting away on meatloaf and homemade baked macaroni. Luffy looked like she was having the time of her life munching on her food, and it made both Bartolomeo and Makino happy.

"So, Luffy, where are you living?" Makino asked at the end of the meal as all three sat back and digested.

"Ummmm..."

Makino looked at Bartolomeo who smirked and gave her a shrug."

"Not far from here!" Luffy decided with a grin. She wasn't lying.. it only took about ten minutes to get from Luffy's house to Bartolomeo's. Bartolomeo realized that it only took ten minutes to walk to school in the morning. So, in other words, school, his house and her house all formed a sort of ten-minute-triangle.

"She's right. We walked there and I think it was on.. Garden Street? Somewhere around there," Bartolomeo further explained to his mother who smiled and nodded, looking at Luffy intently, "she just moved there last week, so give her a break for not knowing."

"Ah, I see. Do you pay for the house on your own?"

"No, Uncle Shanks says that I can use it since it's his summer house," Luffy told her. Makino looked at Bartolomeo at hearing 'Shank', like, 'Principal Shanks', and Bartolomeo nodded.

"How lucky.. well, would you need to go back home to get anything if you're going to spend the night?" Makino asked, grabbing the plates off the table with Bartolomeo to clean up. Luffy looked up at the white ceiling and then back at Makino, shaking her head in her carefree-manner. Makino smiled at her and then was off to the kitchen, washing the dishes as Bartolomeo came back out and sat next to Luffy at the table.

"So.." Bartolomeo started, running his hand through his hair and Luffy turned towards him.

"Mm, where am I going to sleep, Bartolomeo?" Luffy asked curiously, cocking her head in the cutest way. Bartolomeo had a brief moment of emotional-confusion but soon got over it and passed on the question to his mom.

"Mommm, where's Luffy gonna sleep?"

"Oh, well.."

"You didn't think of that either?"

"No... well, she could sleep in your bed."

"Mom, you can't mean _with _me... righttt?"

"Righttt."

"Damn."

"Luffy-chan, how about you sleep in Bartolomeo's bed and he'll just sleep where he falls asleep, alright?" Makino told Luffy, peeking out of the kitchen. Luffy laughed and nodded in agreement while Bartolomeo felt somewhat abandoned.. left on his own to fend for his sleep-needs.. all alone in the world!

"And Bartolomeo..?"

"What now?"

"Leave your door open when you two are in there, okay? I know she's different, but..."

"Mom, dear god, she's the first girl I consider my friend-friend! I would kill myself if I tried anything..."

Making looked at her son, studying him carefully. She could tell that Bartolomeo was being oddly serious, and she trusted him only at those rare moment. Makino smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Alright."

Bartolomeo gave her another rare smile and then turned back to face Luffy in the dining room who was now searching around for something. She was opening drawers, looking under furniture, glancing behind the curtains. Bartolomeo walked up to the detective-for-the-moment and leaned out till she caught sight off him within 5 inches of her face.

"Whatcha lookin' for, ya snoop?"

"Um, I just wanted to see if you had any paper and a pencil, maybe?" Luffy asked sheepishly, clasping her hands behind her back again. Bartolomeo raised an eyebrow and then beckoned her to follow him up the stairs to his room.

It put both kids on edge a little to be really and honestly out of view of anyone else inside that room, but they decided that it was just a barrier that needed to be broken, or at least weakened a little. Bartolomeo didn't want to shut the door completely, out of fear that Luffy would freak, so he left it half-way open before looking for an old sketchpad and a pencil.

Once he found them, awkwardly tucked underneath his bed, Bartolomeo handed the objects to Luffy and sat down next to her on the floor. Luffy was soon looking through the half-full sketchbook, going sparkly-eyed at several of his drawings. Bartolomeo just sat quietly, scratching his neck.

"Will you let me draw in here?" Luffy asked eagerly, leaning in towards Bartolomeo with a grin. Bartolomeo nodded quickly, just as eager to see what she could do.

Soon, Luffy was laying lines all over the page, looking up at Bartolomeo every once and a while with her grin. Bartolomeo couldn't tell what she was drawing, since his view was upside down, but eventually the picture became clearer with the details that Luffy added after the basics. Luffy never stopped smiling, and broke into a fit of happy laughter upon finishing her picture about 10 minutes after she started. She put the pencil down on the floor and then turned the sketchbook around, leaning in to show Bartolomeo what she had drawn.

Bartolomeo looked at his black-and-white reflection.

Luffy had taken in every detail of Bartolomeo's face, piercings, shadows and hair and put it down on paper for all to see.

"Hey, you forgot to sign it."

"Hahaha, that's all you have to say?" Luffy teased, pushing the sketchbook into his chest. Bartolomeo smirked, pulling the book from his lap to look at again. His eyes.. were his eyes really that.. deep and mysterious?

"_This is amazing.. shows how much she thinks of me,"_ Bartolomeo thought to himself, looking up at Luffy who soon caught his glance and smiled.

"Can I copy this?" Bartolomeo asked, standing up from the floor. Luffy blinked and then nodded. Bartolomeo closed his eyes and smiled, walking out of his room to scan it.

Meanwhile, Luffy sat leaning against Bartolomeo's bed on the hardwood floor, observing everything that was owned by her friend. Posters of bands on his walls next to his drawings, bumped stickers on the edges of his mirror, painted vertical stripes on the top drawer of his dresser, and bright blue sheets on his bed. She was so engrossed in admiring a drawing of a depressed smoker that she almost didn't notice when Bartolomeo came back in the room. Luffy smiled up at him.

"So, do you want the original or the copy?" Bartolomeo asked her. Luffy inspected both from afar and chose the original. It was in the middle of being torn from the sketchbook when Bartolomeo had a sudden thought that made him freeze.

"_I should give the sketchbook to her."  
"What? Why?"__"I doubt she has a sketchbook with her, and.. she really liked all my drawings." __"Fine.. but are you really su-"__"Yes, I'm sure." _

Bartolomeo snapped out of his daze and then closed the sketchbook slowly, making Luffy curious. Bartolomeo closed his eyes and sighed, smiling as he handed the book to Luffy who received the thing hesitantly, as if she was afraid she was stealing a part of him. The green-haired teen nodded his head and sat down next to Luffy, just watching how happy she was as she drew and drew and drew till the clock read midnight.

Standing up, Bartolomeo beckoned for Luffy put down the sketchbook momentarily.

"I need to change, so.."

"Okay!"

Luffy didn't move.

Bartolomeo gave Luffy a weird look.

"You should.. probably go out in the hall?" Bartolomeo suggested, gesturing to the hallway with his thumb. Luffy slowly nodded and then grinned, skipping to the hallway, even closing the door behind her.

Bartolomeo sighed as he stripped off his clothes and put them in the hamper, pulling his pajama pants off the foot of his bed. He thought about sleeping with a shirt, but he never did before, so why then?

Then, it hit him.. Luffy couldn't sleep in jean shorts. That's like a rule- denim of any sort shall not be worn when sleeping!

Thinking hard, the only thing he could come up with was a pair of old boxers that didn't fit him anymore. It would have to do, since Makino was asleep like a rock. So, Bartolomeo scrounged up the boxers from way back in his dresser and threw them at Luffy's face as soon as he opened the door. The two stood in silence as the boxers slipped off of Luffy's face; Luffy burst into laughter with Bartolomeo following suit shortly, and they soon had to bite their lips and keep quiet, realizing that Makino was sleeping just across the hall.

Bartolomeo gestured for Luffy to changed in his room and she did just that, opening the door when she was done. Bartolomeo stepped inside his room.. noticing that Luffy had bothered to take off her bra and display it on top of her shorts on the floor next to the bed. He sighed; she just didn't know her limits.

However, despite the major distraction for poor Bartolomeo, Luffy seemed more interested in his tattoo on his chest, poking and touching the winged ring.

"It's cool!" she chirped, admiring Bartolomeo even more while the admiree stood and laughed sheepishly.

"Really? I'm not at all scary-lookin' to you?"

"Nope!"

Sooner or later, the two were back sitting on the floor, drawing till Luffy fell asleep on Bartolomeo's shoulder. Seeing that he couldn't move, really, he had to do _something._

Taking the pencil from her hand before she ruined her own picture by gravitationally-forced lines, Bartolomeo then pulled the sketchbook away, closed it, and put it gently next to his pillow. Next, carefully, as gently as possible, Bartolomeo picked Luffy up in his arms and deposited her on his bed, pulling the sheets up to her shoulder. He stood back with hands on his hips to merely observe his new friend.

She really was an adorable girl.

Bartolomeo turned off the light and walked downstairs, falling asleep before he even hit the couch.

* * *

Later in the night, Luffy awoke in a panic from a terribly realistic dream from her memories, and she instantly began a search for shelter. Stumbling down the stairs, she saw the moonlight glowing Bartolomeo's skin as he slept. She immediately ran to him and snuggled up next to his chest, hugging him tightly as if he would disappear.

Bartolomeo dreamt of Luffy crawling into bed with him, warmth pressing against his bare chest, and he smiled as he put a gentle arm around both the dream and real Luffy, making Luffy in both worlds feel oh so much safer.

You could say that Bartolomeo and Luffy weren't the most normal friends, but, with weird people comes weird relationships.

As long as Luffy was comfortable, Bartolomeo decided that he would be fine with whatever came of their friendship.

Luffy grinned as she looked up at Bartolomeo, who woke up gently to give her a sleepy smile in return.

* * *

~ + woot woot. the long second chapter DONE. XD + ~


	3. Chapter 3

Sudden Complications of Life

**3.**

The birds twittered, the sun shone bright upon their faces, and created a steamy atmosphere that Bartolomeo would've liked to avoid.

Ah, oh well, it was only in his dream anyway.

Waking up, Bartolomeo sat up and stretched, yawning. He looked around him; no sign of Luffy. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and scratched his chest as he got off the couch and walked to the kitchen; Luffy wasn't there either, despite her love for food. Bartolomeo furrowed his brows.

Soon, it was an all-out hunt for his new friend, checking everywhere that a 16-year-old girl could fit into, but no luck.

After making his rounds, Bartolomeo wandered back to the living room, and, found a note on the front door. He stooped over and read it carefully, and yes, Luffy had written it.

_Forgot I made a promise to Shanks to take care of his garden in the backyard! Sorry! _

_- Luffy~ _

Bartolomeo frowned; "_she just had to leave early in the morning, didn- oh, it's noon." _

Standing up again, Bartolomeo decided to call up Kidd, Killer and Ace. Maybe they could provide him with some ample entertainment till Luffy wandered back to him, if she didn't get lost or, in worst case scenario, forget about him.

* * *

It was 9 A.M. in the morning and the morning sun was shining bright upon the earth. A gentle summer breeze swept through the trees, and the sounds of an awakening town met with Luffy's ear as she happily walked down the street to her real destination. She didn't want to make Bartolomeo mad by telling him that she was really going to see Nami, so, she made up a simple lie to hold him over. It would work for sure!

Nami had texted Luffy early in the morning, surprisingly not waking Bartolomeo up, and Nami asked what Luffy was doing.

Luffy responded in truth; _Im just a__t Bartolomeo's house~ _

Nami then went into a fiery burning rage against Bartolomeo, and she demanded that Luffy get away from him and come spend some quality girlfriend time with her at the park. Luffy didn't want to leave, and sent her friend a few regretful looks, but she figured Nami would be more willing to hurt her than Bartolomeo would.

So, walking down the sidewalk with new sketchbook and pencil in hand, and changed into the previous day's clothes, Luffy was happy to be outside and soaking in Mother Nature's gifts. As she admired some orange and red flowers along the way, the park came into view, with an orange-haired flower standing tall in the entrance.

"What took you so long?" Nami teased, running up to meet Luffy who laughed it off.

"Had to change into my clothes!" Luffy explained simply. Nami froze, horrified.

"WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU?!" Nami screeched, taking Luffy into a bone-breaking hug that made Luffy both very confused and very lightheaded. Luffy shook her head and pulled away, nearly falling over in the process which made both of them laugh. Luffy told her what happened at Bartolomeo's, and Nami was still very.. upset over the matter, as she made known.

"Don't do that! Girls and guys don't just automatically spend the night after 2 days of knowing each other, let alone sleep together!" Nami directed, crossing her arms in a no-buts manner. Luffy pouted.

"But Bartolomeo's my friend!" Luffy protested.

"But he's not a good guy, Luffy.. he hurt people in the past and who's to say that he won't hurt you? I just want to protect you, since you're my new friend, and don't let him push you around anymore!"

Luffy bit her lip and looked away, wondering whether she should protest any further, but decided that Nami needed to know how important Bartolomeo was.

"He didn't push me around.." Luffy mumbled, "he didn't make me do anything, really, except for stand outside his room when he changed into his pajamas.."

Nami was unconvinced.

"Bartolomeo even gave me his sketchbook and pencil!" Luffy explained, shoving the thing into Nami's face. Nami backed up and took the sketchbook, briefly flipping through, nonplussed.

"He didn't draw that. He lied to you," Nami retorted. Luffy blushed red and took the sketchbook back, flipping to her picture of Bartolomeo. Once she found it, she turned it for Nami to see. Nami blinked at it.

"What's this?"

"Can't you tell?" Luffy asked quietly, "I drew Bartolomeo!"

"Looks like a monster to me.."

"You're a meanie, Nami!"

"Don't get mad at me for telling the truth, Luffy!"

Luffy shook her head and closed the sketchbook moodily, running back down the street that had just walked on minutes before.

She was beside herself.. How could Nami not see it? Was she just making another big mistake? Did Bartolomeo lie to her?

No, he couldn't have lied.. Bartolomeo didn't lie.

Luffy wasn't going to let Nami's wrong opinions rub off on her, because she knew when she met Bartolomeo that he was different, besides appearance.

Caught up in thoughts, Luffy ran into something. Something, that is, a person. That person, a tall, slim, navy-haired teen who gracefully caught Luffy by the waist before she fell. Luffy blinked up at the person through on-the-verge-of-crying brown eyes and was met with a pair of golden eyes and a smile.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Luffy nodded slowly, standing up straight on her own. He frowned.

"You don't seem like you're alright, with a depressed face like that, _Luffy_."

Luffy was completely dumbfounded, and watched as he bent down and picked up the sketchbook that she had dropped during her fall. He flipped to one of Luffy's drawings and smiled, handing her the book. Luffy took it, not uttering a word or sound.

"I'm Law. I'm in your Spanish 2 class. How odd that we should meet here on a street corner on the weekend!" Law commented softly, letting his eyes trace every detail of Luffy's body while she looked off to the side. Law noticed that she still had that forlorn look about her, which simply would not do.

"Say, how about we take a walk and see if you'll feel any better?" Law suggested, pointing down the road where Luffy was headed. Luffy didn't see why not, and figured the more friends she had the safer she would feel, sort of, so she followed Law.

Walking down a ways, Law couldn't help but notice that the girl wasn't talking like she normally would around her other friends.

"What's wrong? You don't want to talk to me?" Law asked in his smooth voice, stopping to turn and face Luffy, who just looked at the ground. Law held his smirk and gently lifted Luffy's chin so her eyes met his. Luffy froze. Law was confused with her expression.

"Don't be afraid of me, Luffy, I won't hurt you. You can tell me anything," Law reassured her. Luffy didn't move, but she listened to Law. She new he was telling the truth, because even she could see that he liked her, but she was still afraid. What if he didn't like her enough to be able to backstab her?

Oh well.

Friends they would remain in her mind.

"Okay.." Luffy whispered, trying to put her best smiled on her face for Law. Law smiled back.

The two then began a simple conversation of "what's your favorite _?". Law personally was just amused because of Luffy's answers, containing much more information than the question asked for; oh well. Law didn't particularly feel like blackmailing Luffy due to the scared expressions on her face that didn't make him happy one bit.

"What's your favorite thing to draw?" Law asked Luffy calmly, enjoying the warm, happy atmosphere that Luffy was giving off now that they were on a mostly normal track. Luffy looked up at the nearest tree and watched the birds in it flit from branch to branch and she smiled, looking up at Law.

"People."

"People?"

"Yes, people! I love drawing pretty people most!" Luffy responded, suddenly running off the sidewalk to scale the pine tree she had been observing and sent Law into a mental panic attack. He didn't say anything about it, though, other than continuing the question.

"What does a 'pretty person' look like, then?" Law asked, watching Luffy from the bottom of the tree. Luffy hung upside from a branch and grinned down at Law.

"They're happy!"

Law hummed in thought, climbing up the first few branches of the tree before choosing a seat against the trunk, listening to the branches swaying and cracking from Luffy. The occasional twig of needles would fall down on him, with a few overhead giggles from Luffy.

Luffy popped her head out of the shade of the evergreen-foliage and grinned with a laugh, loving the sight of the park, the neighborhoods, Uncle Shanks' house, and, Bartolomeo's house. She could even see the school! The sun warmed her body and she laughed in happiness, remembering why climbing trees was one of her favorite things. (Drawing while sitting in a tree had to be her favorite, by far.)

"Will you ever come down, or do I need to rescue you from the castle, dear Princess Luffy?" Law called up, listened to Luffy's giggle in reply.

"I don't need rescuing, but you should come up here and see what I see!"

Law rolled his eyes with a smile and began his ascent up to see Luffy and the view.

Yeah, he was pretty glad he did.

"I can see why climbing trees is at the top of your list," Law noted, leaning his upper body on a higher branch as he peered through to the city. Luffy, meanwhile, pointed out all the landmarks that she new of, just for Law. She jumped down to his branch and started pointing.

"See, there's the school over there~ And there's Uncle Shanks' house~ There's the park where I just came from seeing Nami, and then there's Bartolomeo's house!"

Knowing that Luffy was the way she was, Law didn't bother asking if Shanks was really her uncle, but he did end up wondering why in the world she knew where Bartolomeo, that freak, lived?

"How come you know where.. he lives?" Law asked her, resting his head on the branch while Luffy climbed up and hung upside-down from it.

"Because I went there last night," Luffy said simply. Law blinked. Luffy.. went to the freak's house? Why? Why on earth would anyone go there when he could easily just knock you out? Luffy stared Law down till Law sighed and sat down on his branch, eye level with Luffy's eyes.

"Why?" Law asked. Luffy blinked at him and grinned, nearly blinding the man.

"Because Bartolomeo's my friend!"

Law nodded slowly, looking off in the distance; he now knew that he wasn't alone in the hunt for Luffy's heart. Bartolomeo would be easy to beat, at least in charm, but definitely not in a physical fight. Law looked back at Luffy, just taking in the emotion in her eyes.

"Law?"

"Yes?" Law thought he was caught in the act of dazing off.

"Do you know where my sketchbook went?"

Law sweatdropped..

* * *

AND SO...

"What'd you do last night?" Kidd asked.

"Videogames," Ace replied.

"Your mom," Killer joked.

"Oi... Bart?"

"Uh... not much, I mean.. Luffy was over.."

The other three nearly spit out what they were drinking and were soon clobbering Bartolomeo with a barrage of questions concerning anything and everything.

"How far did you go?!" Kidd burst out.

"I can't believe you'd do that to her, being the way she is.." Killer mused.

"Fuckin' lucky, man.. you beat me to her!" Ace pouted.

The room went silent and they all stared down Ace who sheepishly laughed and shut up. Bartolomeo eyed him carefully. The last thing he wanted was for someone like Ace to go and take advantage of Luffy and hurt her even more. Kidd and Killer knew it, too, and glanced to Bartolomeo and back to Ace.

"Don't even think about 'getting to her', because she won't like it one bit, and furthermore, I'd make sure that you wouldn't ever be able to have children," Bartolomeo whispered to Ace, nearly pushing their noses together. Ace gave Bartolomeo an odd glare.

"What's she to you, man? Do you want her for yourself?" Ace countered, pushing all of Bartolomeo's buttons.

"A. _Luffy_ spent the night and we didn't do anything but talk and draw, and B. you don't deserve Luffy. She's way too good and fragile for you and your pig-like fantasies," Bartolomeo hissed, taking Ace's collar in his hand and dragging the guy to the front door, pushing him out of his house.

Kidd and Killer gave him a silent round of applause as Bartolomeo came back and sat down on the couch between Kidd and Killer.

"Awkward.." Kidd said. Killer nodded. Bartolomeo looked down at the floor.

"Yeah. He's not my friend if he's not a friend to Luffy. Even if he doesn't know her story, that's no excuse not to be respectful," Bartolomeo explained, never taking his eyes off the ground. Kidd and Killer agreed, even though they weren't as close to Luffy, they weren't going to leave Bartolomeo hanging when he was doing something good for once.

"I think you just had Sanji moment," Kidd teased, elbowing Bartolomeo who frowned and began a wrestling match with Kidd right then and there while Killer just laughed.

After settling down again, with only minor injuries, Killer had to bring up Luffy again.

"So.. was talking and drawing really all that happened?" Killer asked in all seriousness.

So Bartolomeo took a deep breath, and explained.

"Well, yesterday, Luffy insisted that I go to the cheerleading tryouts with her, so I did. I nearly died, but I'm glad I went, because afterwards we talked for a long time in the gym till we got kicked out by the fuckin' janitor.. didn't know he was interrupting.. and so then we talked outside for a while. Then, the wind picked up and so Luffy got all happy and she started dancing down the sidewalk while laughing. I followed her, and then saved her from falling and cracking her skull in two. I'll honestly say that I thought she was dead for a second when I held her.. then she blinked, so I knew everything was fine."

Kidd and Killer looked at each other as Bartolomeo continued.

"So then I saw this awesome lookin' house farther up the way, and then Luffy says we should go inside it! And I'm like 'No!', but, it turns out her uncle is Shanks, and that house was Shank's summer house that he was letting Luffy stay in. So, we went inside, and it was awesome.. and then she talked me into helping her with homework. So, we did that, and then we walked over to my house after I convinced her to, which took a while of odd luring techniques. Don't take that weirdly. So we ate dinner with Mom, and after Mom kinda asked 'well why can't she eat with her own family?' and Luffy responded 'I don't have one!', she felt bad and told Luffy she could have anything she wanted. Pretty muc-"

Killer put up his hand and stood up, walking away silently to the bathroom, leaving Kidd and Bartolomeo silently watching him leave, and then turn back to laugh.

Upon the return of the blonde, Bartolomeo cleared his throat and continued.

"So.. where was I... oh yeah. So, Luffy decided to take Mom's offer to stay the night. And that was a nice idea and all until the question "where's she gonna sleep?' came up. She ended up taking my bed, and I was banished to wherever I went besides there. Yeah, I was a little hurt by that, hahaha, but whatever. So then she started looking through everything in the dining room, for paper and a pencil as I figured out, and so then we went to my bedroom an-"

"Oooooo," Kidd teased, receiving an elbow-to-the-diaphragm in response.

"Shut up.." Bartolomeo muttered, blushing a bit as he continued, _again. _

"I gave her my sketchbook, and a pencil, to draw with and then she was 'amazed and astounded by my Leonardo da Vinci-like skill'. So, then, she started drawing something, and I didn't know what, and then when she showed me, I was looking at a perfect reflection of myself. It was amazing. In fact, I copied it, so hold on!"

Bartolomeo got up and ran upstairs to his room where he left the copy the night before and ran back downstairs, making the other two turn their heads to see if Bartolomeo would trip or not, which he did not.

"Here, look!"

The two took the picture and looked at it, up at Bartolomeo, and then back at the picture all while looking pretty impressed.

"Looks just like you," Killer noted, putting the drawing right next to Bartolomeo's face. Kidd nodded with a smirk.

"Well anyways, I got ready for bed, but she needed something to wear, so..."

"So..?"

"I literally threw a pair of boxers at her face."

"Yeah, that's how you do it," Kidd mumbled, grinning all the way.

"That's all I had!" Bartolomeo protested, sitting back down on the couch again, "so then she got changed and... left her bra off.."

Kidd had to laugh while Killer licked his lips.

"So, that was awkward... but I just had to ignore it for her, so then we sat down on the floor and she started drawing like crazyyy! But, after a while, she fell asleep on my shoulder. So I put her in bed and then went down and slept on the couch."

"You're no fun."

"Shut up, Kidd."

"Then...? Did anything else happen?"

Bartolomeo scratched his neck, considering whether to tell them about the middle-of-the-night encounter or not. But, he decided that it really couldn't hurt..

"I'm guessing Luffy had a bad dream or something because at like 4 or something in the morning she came downstairs and snuggled up to me on the couch, and I woke up as she put her arm around my side, so.. I did the natural thing an-"

"Pushed her off?"

"Freaked out?"

"God damnit, I held her close till she fell asleep!" Bartolomeo finished, crossing his arms whilst blushing profusely. Maybe he shouldn't have told them after al-

Bartolomeo's thought were abruptly interrupted by loud footsteps on the front porch and then the front door swinging open.

"I'm back~!" Luffy announced, leaping through the door with a grin before rushing up to Bartolomeo as he stood up from the couch to see her.

"Luffy!"

"Bartolomeo, I met this one weird guy on the way home! His name was Law, and he had the prettiest golden eyes! But anyway, he was kinda weird but he cheered me up, and then we climbed a pine tree and I could see your house from it! But.. then I lost your sketchbook.. so Law and I looked all around the tree to find it, and then we found it at the very bottom on the ground. So, then we walked a little ways longer before I turned to come here!" Luffy explained, clutching Bartolomeo's arm as if to keep his focus on her.

Kidd and Killer watched with wide eyes as they listened to Luffy quickly rattle off what she had been doing, while Bartolomeo took careful note of everything said, knowing there could be subtle hints to fear or emotion of sorts in any word.

"Cheered you up from what?" Bartolomeo asked softly, watching Luffy freeze and cover her mouth in shock.

"Uh, um, oh nothing!"

"Oh I think it's something. Luffy, you can tell me."

"Hmm... um, okay. I wasn't going to tell you, but I really went to see Nami at the park, and then she yelled at me for being over here with you, so then I got kinda upset and ran away from her, and that's when I ran into Law and almost fell over," Luffy mumbled, holding onto Bartolomeo's arm tightly with her free hand, "are you mad at me?"

Killer began to pretend to eat popcorn as if sitting at a dramatic movie when Kidd elbowed him in the gut.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Bartolomeo asked outright, waiting patiently for an answer from Luffy, who took her time.

"Well, because I lied to you in my note," Luffy answered, holding the sketchbook with both hands as she looked down at the floor. Bartolomeo frowned. Rather than touch her to get her attention, he stooped down and looked up at Luffy, catching her eyes. He smiled.

"I don't care. Just feel free to tell me anything, alright?" Bartolomeo asked, standing back up again. Luffy blinked, thinking, and then nodded happily with her usual grin, dropping the sketchbook to hug Bartolomeo tightly. He put his hand gently on her back, not wanting to invoke anything bad from her mind.

Meanwhile, the blonde pretended to cry and clap, causing another silent beating to occur in the peanut gallery.

"Bartolomeo?"

Bartolomeo looked down at Luffy, who blinked back up at him.

"I'm hungry."

"Bartolomeo, I'm hungry, too~" Killer groaned teasingly, holding his stomach. Kidd glared at Killer and looked up at Bartolomeo with a shrug.

"Food couldn't hurt," Kidd added, breaking into a grin.

"When did you get here?" Luffy asked the two from her hug, looking rather confused. The others sweatdropped.

"They've been here, Luffy," Bartolomeo stated, patting her shoulder softly. Luffy looked up at him in mild shock.

"Oh! Well, whatever, let's eat!"

* * *

~ + Thanks for reading~ :D + ~


	4. Chapter 4

Sudden Complications of Life

**4.**

And so, Sunday passed normally and the dreaded first Monday back to school all reeked havoc upon the high-schoolers' sleep schedule, including Bartolomeo and Luffy.

"Bartolo..o..*yawn*" Luffy called out as she met Bartolomeo in the morning just in front of school, falling sleepily into the other's arms.

"Luffy.. Luffy you need to stay ahhhh...awake," Bartolomeo yawned, setting Luffy back on her feet as she sleepily nodded. Smiling down at Luffy's head, Bartolomeo directed Luffy to the front gate, walking towards the entrance like the other students when a dashing young man sprung out from behind a tree and took Luffy's hands in his own, completely taking advantage of her sleepiness. Luffy blinked up at him.

"Eh?"

"My, such a beautiful face, a beautiful body as well! Princess, which castle have you been locked up in all this time?" the teen asked, bending down on one knee to kiss Luffy's hand. Luffy merely watched him in a confused manner, wondering why everyone called her a princess. First Law, and then.. well, whoever this was.

"I'm..not a princess," Luffy mumbled, pulling her hand away from the teen who looked just as amused.

"Oh, but you look like one! Your fair skin, your hair, the glittery depth of your caramel eyes! Truly, you are a sight to behold! May I have the honor to know your name?"

Luffy looked up Bartolomeo, wishing for a normal-English translation, "I think he wants to know your name," he replied. The girl nodded slowly, turning back to the other admirer.

"Luffy.. Monkey D. Luffy?"

"Splendid, love! Such a unique name for a unique lady! I am Cavendish, Cavendish Prince~" Cavendish announced, standing back up in his frilly white shirt and dress pants, "I'm afraid I must be going, but I promise that we shall meet once more, Luffy!"

And so, with that, the guy walked off laughing, girls fawning over him as he entered through the school's entranceway. Bartolomeo and Luffy looked at each other; this guy had to be the weirdest of them all.

"Hmm. He was weird," Luffy stated, blinking after the blonde 'prince'. Bartolomeo nodded, and soon ushered Luffy and himself to their lockers, almost ready for another day at school.

* * *

At lunchtime, Bartolomeo, Kidd and Killer all discussed the matter of the three admirers of Luffy: Law, Ace, and now Cavendish Prince; meanwhile, Zoro listened to it all but made no comment. Law didn't seem as.. pushy as the other two, so the three amigos figured he would take the slow route to Luffy's hear; that, at least, would be the least detrimental to her poor, broken love-life.

"Ace just.. ahh...well.."

"Is in it for the body?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"That can't be very pleasing for Luffy, seeing as she's had quite enough of emotion-less 'love-making'," Killer noted, biting into his sandwich.

"And Cavendish is just a- oh! Hi Luffy!" Kidd stumbled, finding himself waving stupidly at Luffy as she came back from wherever, looking pretty annoyed, "where'd you go?" Luffy shook her head, sitting down between Zoro and Bartolomeo with her plain red lunchbox, opening the thing to chew on an apple as she explained.

"Nami was freakin' out about something, so she pulled me to the bathroom to tell me about it, and really, I didn't listen to a word she said, so.."

All four men at the table held their tongues, waiting..

"Somethin' 'bout 'feminine problems' or something? I don't know why she'd be freaking out about _that_, but whatever. Her problem," Luffy finished with a nod, biting into her apple again. Bartolomeo smirked and patted Luffy's shoulder, gently.

"Ah, let her deal with it on her own," he told her, offering her a slice of salami, which she ate right from his hand like a cute dog. The other three weren't sure whether to find it cute, or.. odd. Bartolomeo gave her an odd smile and then decided to steal one of Luffy's oreos from her lunch. Luffy pouted and frowned, deciding to take another piece of salami from Bartolomeo's lunch. Bartolomeo sighed, grinning all the way as Luffy picked up her apple again.

Just as it met her mouth, Bartolomeo stole the apple and took a small bite, holding it out away from Luffy as she stretched across him to get to it.

"Hahaha, nice try!" Bartolomeo teased, laughing even harder when Luffy fell over on him, almost succeeding in kicking Zoro in the crotch. Finally, Luffy bit Bartolomeo's arm, and so, he placed the apple back in her jaws, with her looking extremely satisfied. Kidd and Killer still weren't sure how to feel, but settled on laughing and smiling as well. Zoro only scowled.

"Luffy!"

Luffy dropped her apple into her lap. Zoro facepalmed, not liking the orange-haired witch one bit.

"What'd I tell you about being around _him_?" Nami demanded, folding her arms over his chest with a very angry look about her. Luffy leaned her head back and blinked at the upside-down Nami.

"Not to?" Luffy responded, falling backwards a little too far. Bartolomeo stuck out an arm to keep her up. Nami glared at his arm and kicked it.

"What the fuck, man?" Bartolomeo barked, standing up to look down on her, "Luffy's back was right there too, ya know?!" Nami glared up at him, slightly moved that he was even worried about Luffy in the first place.

"Well, I told her not to be around _you _so she deserves it too!" Nami replied, sticking her nose in the air. Bartolomeo sneered, and wasn't very appreciative of the glares and looks from the surrounding tables, so he flicked her arm and laughed, as if they were having a fake argument, and then glared her down.

"Now, go sit down and leave Luffy alone," Bartolomeo told her, turning her around by her arm to go back where she came from, and she promptly did so.

Kidd and Killer gave him their praises and applause as he sat down next to Luffy again, putting his hand on her shoulder while she blinked up him.

"You alright? Damn that bitch.. she's so inconsiderate," Bartolomeo whispered to Luffy, looking back at Nami who was telling the tale to her girlfriends back at her table; Zoro agreed. He just shook his head and turned back around to find Killer conversing with Luffy for once.

"Why does she not want you around Bartolomeo?" the blonde asked out of curiosity, leaning on the table to watch how Luffy would answer, to which she bit into her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and hummed while she thought about it.

"Well, Nami told me that 'he had hurt people before, and so what makes me think that he wouldn't hurt me?' And that he's a bad guy and stuff, but, I don't think so. I think, I know, that he's good, because I trust him!" Luffy told him, leaning against Bartolomeo as she said this. Killer looked over at Bartolomeo, who caught his glances, and Killer just smirked.

Kidd gave Bartolomeo a thumbs up and smiled, watching Luffy sneak another slice of salami. Bartolomeo looked off to the side to pretend to not see Luffy, and reached around her to steal another cookie, just as karma for her; luckily, Luffy didn't notice and happily chewed on salami while Bartolomeo pretended to be upset.

He could get used to this.

* * *

The first period after lunch happened to be Spanish 2, where Bartolomeo, Luffy and Zoro walked to together to avoid any 'lost-in-the-school's-hallways' situations. Luffy wasn't sure how to feel about going to see Law again, but, she was pretty sure she was happy.. maybe.

And sure enough, with 4 minutes of passing-period left till class started, the three friends walked through the Spanish 2 door and beheld the only other student in the classroom, Trafalgar Law, resting his head on folded-hands as he smirked at Luffy; yeah, maybe 'happy' wasn't the right emotion.

Law had happened to choose a seat in the middle of the back row of desks, and pulled out the neighboring chair for Luffy. Luffy grinned at him and took the seat, pulling the seat next to her out for Bartolomeo, who sat down quickly. Zoro, having no option of next to Bartolomeo, chose the seat next to Law, to further observe the odd admirer.

"So, how was lunch?" Law asked Luffy, turning his golden-eyed gaze in her direction. Bartolomeo laughed at the question, making Luffy turn and pinch him.

"Bartolomeo kept stealing my cookies.." Luffy pouted, turning away from Bartolomeo, who merely stuck his tongue out at her back. Law smirked.

"Such a bastard. Other than that, how has your day been?"

"Hmmm.. pretty good! I almost fell asleep walking to school. But Bartolomeo woke me up just in time to have my hand kissed, and called a princess, by weird curly-haired blonde guy, who's name I think was a food? Ca... Cabbage! Yeah! he was weird, but, the rest of my day was pretty normal." Luffy paraphrased, using hand gestures to brighten the conversation. Law frowned upon hearing of Cavendish Prince.

"So-" Luffy looked up at Law, "-do you like Cabbage, Luffy-ya?"

Right as Luffy opened her mouth to respond, the Spanish teacher shut the classroom door and began teaching.

"Que estamos, clase?"

"Estamos bien, Senor Gallegos."

Luffy sent Law a 'half-and-half' symbol followed by a 'might be crazy?' gesture, to which Law smirked; at least 'Cabbage' weirded her out more than anything else.

Bartolomeo sent Law a concerned glance as the teacher began writing on the board, assuming the students would write the notes down in their notebooks; half did, half didn't, but oh well.

* * *

Later, after school, as Luffy walking home from her first cheerleading practice to do homework, a certain orange-wearing admirer stepped out of the shadows and scared Luffy, making her clutch at her heart and laugh, laughing till the other laughed with her.

"Ahh, how did I not see you?" Luffy laughed, putting a hand to her stomach. Ace grinned with a shrug, imagining his hands on her... ehehe... nothing, nothing. Turning on the charm, Ace decided to introduce himself.

"Sorry about that, honey. My name's Ace! What about you?" Ace asked, pretending to not know about the girl he was talking to. Luffy grinned and shook her head, dismissing the apology.

"Luffy! Monkey D. Luffy!"

"Oh? You're Monkey D. Luffy? I've heard a lot about you!" Ace faked, meeting Luffy's eyes with a pure-handsome smile. Luffy blinked up at him, slightly entranced.

"Hmmm.." she hummed, not letting go of their locked-gaze. Ace raised an eyebrow, his smile turning to full grin.

"What is it? Do you like what you see?" Ace teased, pulling his shirt up partway to show his abs, and Luffy couldn't help but be a little bit in love.. with his muscles, at least. Not thinking, Luffy nodded slightly, following Ace's hand back up to his face where he put his hand to his mouth, debating.

"You can see more.. if you want," Ace whispered, leaning in close with his hands gently pushing Luffy's bent elbows towards him. Luffy opened her lips, caught in his gaze...

"OI, 'the fuck did I tell you, Ace?!"

Bartolomeo came charging up the sidewalk, eyes not on Ace but on Luffy; what happened? Was she okay? Ace, meanwhile, only side-glanced Bartolomeo, smirking as he took advantage of Luffy's distraction to lightly press his lips against hers. Luffy's eyes went wide, flickering from Bartolomeo to Ace, to Bartolomeo, to Ace, and then shut; fainted.

Luffy's backpack slipped off her arms and thudded to the ground.

Ace nearly let her fall, catching her only when he realized that she fainted, and immediately freaked out. Luckily for him, Bartolomeo sent one clean punch to his head and he was out cold on the sidewalk. Bartolomeo caught Luffy, and, regretfully, had to get Ace off of the sidewalk, so he slung the male over his shoulder and reserved his arms for Luffy.

Grumbling as he dragged the two idiots, and Luffy's idiot bookbag, back to his house, Bartolomeo slung Ace over the side of the couch and brought Luffy upstairs to his room, where he put her, and her backpack, on his bed while he sat on the floor and did his homework; he was more than willing to give the answers to Luffy due to her unintended time-waster. Luckily, there still wasn't much homework to begin with, considering most of the new teachers were still adjusting to the school in general.

After a while, Luffy sat up in a panic, flailing till she realized where she was and what was happening. She spotted the back of Bartolomeo's green hair and jumped on him, nearly flattening him in the process, and started crying all over him. Scared to death of what she was doing, Bartolomeo repositioned himself first, then hugged her and stroked her hair till she could speak at least somewhat proper sentences.

"I... I.. I was so scared!" Luffy blubbered, burying her face in Bartolomeo's chest. Bartolomeo wondered when and what situation she was talking about, but, asking questions to a crying person usually wasn't the way to go. So, tried his best to whisper words of consolation.

"It's okay, you're okay now," Bartolomeo attempted, hesitantly patting Luffy's back. Luffy shook her head, crying even harder. Soon, Bartolomeo wished he had a different shirt on, but by god, there was no time for shirts at that moment!

"Pl-please..! S-stop it! I don't wanna..wanna... ehhhh!"

Bartolomeo stopped patting, taking her words personally, but Luffy grabbed his hand and directed to her back again, indicating for him to scratch her back like a mother would comfort her daughter. So, Bartolomeo tried it, gently gliding his nails across her back, but Luffy still wasn't happy. She pulled up the back of her shirt and tried to calm down, biting down on her lip as she pointed to her now bare, mainly, back.

Hesitant as always when dealing with physical contact with the girl, Bartolomeo took his time to work up the courage to do what she wanted. However, looking down at her back made his whole body freeze; scars. Red scars from beatings, whipping, biting.. it hurt Bartolomeo to see what happened to her, and made him resent this 'Rob Lucci' for literally scarring both her mind and body.

Sniffling with the occasional sob, Luffy begged silently, placing her hand over his eyes to just make him scratch already and not worry about her scars for the moment. Bartolomeo licked her hand in a feeble attempt to make her laugh, which somewhat resulted in a choked giggle, and blindly guided his hand to her back, giving her the desired form of comfort.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the living room, Ace woke up from his 'nap' and fell over, recovering himself on the floor. He looked around, sniffed, and felt the ground and knew that he was in Bartolomeo's house, but.. he was by himself.

Maybe.. maybe he should try to explain to Bartolomeo what happened, and that he was sorry and all that jazz, so, finding Bartolomeo would be the first step to doing that. Ace stood up wobbly and regained his balance, deciding that Bartolomeo must be in this bedroom. So, the admirer stepped towards the stairs and took a few steps, and soon he was at the top of the stairs.

Crying.

There was crying.

Ace stepped toward it and opened the door, revealing a miserable Luffy clutching at Bartolomeo who was gently scratching her back; her scarred back. Luffy opened her watery eyes and glared daggers back at Ace, soon biting her lip while tears streamed down again. Taken aback, Ace figured that Bartolomeo must be doing something to her that she didn't like, maybe, revealing those weird scars? Or, touching her?

"Hey, dumbass, let her go 'cause you're making her cry if you didn't notice," Ace told him, leaning in the doorway with hands in pockets, feeling bad for some reason. Luffy opened her eyes and flicked her head in Ace's direction, suddenly getting up out of Bartolomeo's lap and walking up to Ace, wiping her eyes. Ace expected her to throw herself in his arms, the arms of her savior, Portgas D. Ace. Sadly, he got a lecture and a beating instead.

"Don't y-you.. say that _B-Bartolomeo_ made _me _cry! Y-You're the one that.. made me!" Luffy sobbed, breaking down in front of Ace. Ace blinked down at her, not understanding; why would he? Luffy put a hand to her mouth and fell to her knees, feebly hitting Ace's leg with her free hand.

"You..! Don't make him the b-bad guy!" Luffy continued, finally flopping onto her back to stare up at the ceiling while she held her breath, imagining that her Grandpa was there and telling her not to cry and just continue on. Shutting her eyes tightly, Luffy pushed herself back over to Bartolomeo, resting her head in his lap. Ace still, was dumbfounded.

Bartolomeo took one look down at Luffy and then up at Ace. Luffy opened her eyes and looked up at Bartolomeo till their eyes met, a few sniffles sneaking out. She blinked once and sheepishly smiled, hugging his arm like a teddy bear till he understood what she was telepathically saying.

"Ace.." Bartolomeo said, trying not to hiss too much, "you need to know something.. something that might explain what you're dumbass-eyes are seeing. Ace rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Luffy was abused and raped not long ago.. by a 'boyfriend'."

Ace raised his eyebrows and put down his arms.

"Ever since, her 'boyfriend' was sent to prison, her only real family, her grandpa, died and left her with nothing except a sliver of hope for future and some money, and so, she was brought here by a family friend, or, Uncle Shanks, to start over. Meet new people, new classmates; new _friends.. _not people who would make her relive her worst nightmare."

Luffy chocked back a sob and flipped over onto her stomach, crawling up to wrap her arms around Bartolomeo's neck, grinning in happiness that Bartolomeo understood her.

Meanwhile, in the doorframe, Ace sighed and scratched his neck.

"I'm ashamed of myself now... I'm sorry," Ace mumbled, looking at the ground. Bartolomeo put a hand behind his ear.

"Huh?"

Bartolomeo pointed to Luffy who blinked up at him curiously. Ace walked up to Luffy and bent down in front of her, making her sink further against Bartolomeo. Ace sighed and rubbed his face, completely embarrassed.

"Luffy.."

"Hnn..."

"Hey.. I'm sorry. I didn't know- fuck, that's no excuse. I'm just plain sorry; I shouldn't have.. lured you in like I did."

Luffy looked at Ace for moment and made herself look at those eyes again.. but not get lost in them; hehe, nice try!

"Can we be friends? Real ones...?" Ace asked softly, reaching his hand out for her to grab. Luffy took a hand off of Bartolomeo and slowly put in into Ace's hand. Ace squeezed her hand teasingly with a laugh and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, which made Luffy extremely confused, except, not in a bad way.

Luffy looked at Bartolomeo, then at Ace, then at the ceiling where she felt a grin creep onto her face with a deep blush, which made her laugh and giggle and pull away her hand. Ace smirked and raised an eyebrow at her, aware of how delicate a flower he was helping take care of. Bartolomeo didn't like Ace still, but at least had a little more trust in him concerning Luffy.

"Now," Bartolomeo started, receiving full attention, "first; Ace, you're helping me get rid of Cavendish, since he has his eyes set on her too, sorry Luffy, and L-... and second; we're all staying over here tonight and not going to school; sound good?"

Luffy nodded happily, hugging Bartolomeo tightly once more while Ace gave him a wink and a thumbs up.

Bartolomeo gave them a tired smile and then.. fell asleep on Luffy's shoulder.

Ace and Luffy looked at each other and then to Bartolomeo... they both grinned and knew what they would be doing next~

* * *

_Dear Bartolomeo, _

_You may or may not wish to use the shower upon seeing your reflection. _

_Signed, your loving best friends, - Ace & Luffy._

* * *

Let's just say.. Bartolomeo hadn't picked a better day to stay home from school.

* * *

~ + lol there XD feel-y fourth chapter! + ~


	5. Chapter 5

Sudden Complications of Life

**5.**

"Ace, what's your favorite anime?" Luffy asked, blinking curiously up at him, who was in a chair, while she laid spread-eagle on the floor of Bartolomeo's bedroom while Bartolomeo was taking a shower. Ace laid back and thought about it, folding his arms.

"Probably... Trigun. I still haven't finished it after like a year, but I loved what I saw. Vash and his damn anti-gravity hair.." Ace responded, sounding jealous of Vash the Stampede's vertical blades of blonde hair. Luffy laughed at Ace and grinned. "What about your favorite, Luffy?"

"Kill la Kill! I even have a Kill la Kill backpack, see!" Luffy showed off her backpack, putting it on just because. Ace smirked, putting his arms behind his head. He yawned, noticing that it was 11 P.M. Yes, that would explain why he was feeling rather tired. Meanwhile, Luffy just kept on going like clockwork, taking out her ipod from her backpack. Ace blinked at it, wondering just what kind of music she listened to; he would soon find out.

"Mmm, hold on, let me get out my headphones.." Ace waited. "Ah, there! Now you can listen with me! I like to dance, too, so if you wanna dance with me, that's fine with me!"

Ace smirked and doubted that he would be dancing any time soon. Luffy scrolled through and chose a song from a playlist, turning up the volume through her headphones which made her immediately happy for music.

First, a very short-short intro, then came the lyrics, followed by Luffy dancing around the room happily. For a moment, Ace felt as if he should join her since he was liking the song a lot, and then he decided that he shouldn't. It was at the second verse that Luffy finally dragged Ace off his back and into dancing-mode, both laughing like idiots while they made up their dance as they went.

Unfortunately, the end of the dance was cut short by Bartolomeo calling for Ace to bring him a pair of pants. Ace rolled his eyes while Luffy laughed at Bartolomeo's lack of memory, at least concerning everyday things. So, Luffy tossed Ace Bartolomeo's sweat pants off the end of the bed, which Ace caught, and he was soon knocking on the bathroom door, which Bartolomeo opened while he was still completely nude.

Of course, the first thing Ace had to say about that was, "DAMN, MAN! YOU'RE HUGEEE!"

Luffy blinked in confusion and soon joined the party in the doorway, peering between Ace and the doorframe, which Bartolomeo saw first and instantly grabbed the pants out of Ace's hands to cover himself up.

"L-L-L-Luffy! U-Uh, just go, uh, wait outside!" Bartolomeo stuttered, looking beyond extremely embarrassed. So, Bartolomeo did whatever came naturally, and apparently pulling Ace in with him before closing the door was natural to him.. Bartolomeo was concerned for himself.

Meanwhile, Ace was cracking up like Humpty Dumpty was when he fell off the wall, and it didn't make the green-haired one feel any better.

"S-Shut up!" Bartolomeo grumbled, putting on his pants, "it was your damn fault that she got interested anyway!"

Ace looked offended, "My fault? I didn't physically force her to look at your big-as-"

"SHUT UP!"

"What? Embarrassed about it even though you've won?" Ace teased, elbowing Bartolomeo in the gut while the flustered one looked like his face was painted pink.

"It doesn't matter.." Bartolomeo mumbled almost inaudibly, folding his arms over his chest while he looked off to the side. Meanwhile, Ace apparently had wanted to start a competition and dropped his pants, and the clink of his belt on the floor brought Bartolomeo back to reality, and, to more blushing.

"W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Bartolomeo yelped, covering his eyes like scared kid. Ace laughed even harder and pulled Bartolomeo's hand away.

"What? Afraid you're beat? Don't worry 'bout that, but I'm pretty big myself-"

"Would you stop talking about thi-!? Oh wow, you are kinda big.. Wait, no!"

Luffy had her ear pressed up against the door, listening contently to the boys' conversation and was half-lost, half-there and the parts she was there for, she had to practically lay on her face to keep from laughing.

"And hey, don't you want a pair of boxers or somethin'? Or are you a free man?" Ace asked Bartolomeo is all seriousness, jabbing a thumb back towards the bathroom door. Bartolomeo facepalmed...

"First, put your damn pants back on before I lose track of myself, and second... well.. I like my space."

"Well damn, yeah, I see why!"

"Pants..."

"Oh yeah, those- wait, if I'm gonna take a shower, then why can't I just leave 'em off?" Ace asked, not making one move to even touch his pants. Bartolomeo was starting to feel very awkward, and wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel, and just shook his head as he barged past Ace and walked out of the bathroom and back into his room.

Ace stared out after Bartolomeo, forgetting Luffy was still there. Ace blinked. Luffy blinked. Ace grinned and did a little awkward dance as he shut the door. Moments later, both Luffy and Ace were in tears from laughing.

"Luffy? Is Ace being weird again?" Bartolomeo called from his bedroom, eventually peeking his head out of the doorway to find Luffy on the ground laughing while Ace's laughing echoed as he stepped into the tub.

Bartolomeo eventually dragged Luffy back to his bedroom, but didn't question the laughing for fear of more embarrassment. So, Luffy calmed down as much as possible and started playing the same song again because it was her favorite one, and pulled Bartolomeo this time to dance, who, with damp and straight hair for once, yawned and attempted dancing. It didn't go terribly and got some good laughs out of Luffy, at least.

Both falling onto Bartolomeo's bed, Luffy and Bartolomeo laid in calm silence, staring up at the ceiling while the next song began to play. Bartolomeo yawned again and looked over at Luffy, who blinked back at him and yawned in response. Grinning as Bartolomeo yawned again, Luffy noticed that she was still wearing her day clothes. Bartolomeo saw her predicament and got up, uncovering the pair of boxers she had worn a few nights before.

Taking the boxers from him, Luffy started pulling down her shorts right in front of Bartolomeo, and, not wanting to banish her to the hallway where Ace might appear, Bartolomeo slightly turned away and focused on anything else but the girl that was stripping right in front of him. Soon, he heard the snap of her bra too, and to avoid further problems for he and his free-self, Bartolomeo buried his face in his pillow, telling himself a story that he made up as he went.

"Bartolomeo?" Luffy asked, blinking as she lightly tapped her friend's shoulder. Bartolomeo burst from the pillow, gasping for air, and somehow ended up laying on his back. He stared at the ceiling till Luffy inched into view. He smirked, knowing full well that he couldn't just escape her; not that he minded it...

"Yeah..?" Bartolomeo asked, laughing a little bit.

"Oh, um, just wondered what you were doing," Luffy told him, giggling as she grabbed her hands behind her back. Bartolomeo smirked and shook his head, not bothering to tell her anything more. Luffy seemed to not like this, but didn't let it get to her that much. Meanwhile, Ace stepped out of the shower (nearly slipping, mind you) and soon was back in Bartolomeo's bedroom soon only clad in his boxers, due to rule #1. of clothes-while-sleeping. He didn't appear to be phased by this, but Bartolomeo certainly was.

"I have some pants if you want.." Bartolomeo muttered, pointing to his dresser. Ace smirked and shook his head, striking a manly pose. Bartolomeo sighed while Luffy laughed at him.

"I'm a free man, too!" Ace boasted, sending Bartolomeo a condescending smirk that was just asking to be punched. Luffy thought she knew what was going on, but, she really didn't, and so she sat up and blinked, amused at least at their expressions. After a moment, Ace turned to Luffy.

"Your turn in the bathroom. And don't sweat it, 'cause I put a razor in the shower already," Ace told her, pushing her, gently, out of the room so he could close the door.

Turning back to Bartolomeo, Ace immediately went into a fit of giggles and grins making the other room's occupant slightly disturbed.

"Uh..?"

"Did you not see her?! How can you be so damn calm around _that_!?" Ace yelped, receiving a hand clamped over his mouth to silence him.

"Yeah, I'm not blind. Just don't think about it, or else you'll be out in the street in your pretty plaid boxers before you could even protest," Bartolomeo threatened calmly like he was born to do so. Ace's eye twitched and he lost his grin, sitting down moodily next to Bartolomeo on his bed. Soon, Ace got bored and slid off the bed and onto the floor where Luffy's Ipod sat waiting for company.

It was as if Ace and that song had fallen in love and he just wanted her to bear his children, well, sort of, so Ace turned on the same song again and started dancing like Bartolomeo wasn't anywhere near him. Unfortunately for Bartolomeo, who was afraid that he went blind for a second, so, he slowly raised up his hands to cover his eyes. Ace couldn't stop it and pulled Bartolomeo up off the bed with the stubborn green-haired one fighting to stay back, and finally gave in and found himself dancing around with the person he would've killed just a day before.

"God, I feel so stupid," Ace laughed while Bartolomeo bit his lip and just continued, falling in line with Ace's moves.

Dancing in sync with each other, Ace suddenly embraced a seducing mien and sang along the refrain, adding a spin or two, a side-step while holding fake hat, and the one-handed reach and pull.

The song came to an end, to both their disappointment. but brought Ace to thinking about a certain question that no man should ever ask another man.

"Hey, can you twerk?"

"Does it look like I can?"

"Uh... um..yes?"

"Ace, if I could twerk, the world would be ending," Bartolomeo stated, putting hand to his face to block the self-images. Ace, meanwhile, looked away in embarrassment.

"I guess I'm just special then," Ace whispered with a smirk, threatening to further blind Bartolomeo who only shook his head and turned away.

"You are too fuckin' weird, I tell ya.." Bartolomeo mumbled, turning around only to kick Ace in his ass and watch as he stumbled towards the bedroom door that Luffy opened at that moment, peering around the door to see what she hit.

"Ace?" she asked, stepping fully into the room before closing the door again. Ace sat up and rubbed his head, sending a glare back at Bartolomeo before they both started laughing. Luffy laughed too, just because.

* * *

"Bartolomeo.." Luffy mumbled sleepily, leaning against his bed in between Ace and him.

"Hmm?"

Luffy yawned, holding up her hand as a signal to 'hold on', and then blinked, regaining her thoughts.

"Hmm.. do you think I'm pretty?" she asked him, leaning against his shoulder. Ace nodded profusely from the other side of Luffy while Bartolomeo blushed and rubbed his arm.

"Um.. why do you ask?" he questioned, wondering how important his answer would be. Luffy hugged his arm gently, smiling.

"Just because."

Ace was about having a seizure from nodding and trying to signal Bartolomeo to just answer already, and finally got so tired that he just smirked to himself and facepalmed, leaning his head then against his knees. The other male looked over at him and then down at Luffy.

"Yes, I do," Bartolomeo responded, not sure how to enforce his answer. Luffy looked up at him and frowned.

"How pretty?"

"Very.. pretty..? Um.. as cute as a little lost puppy who wants a home?"

Luffy giggled, closing her eyes calmly, "Is that it?" Bartolomeo felt guilty, scratching his neck while Ace stared up at him.

"No.."

"I could tell~"

"I think you're.. beautiful, Luffy," Bartolomeo whispered, feeling his face heat up while Luffy readjusted to rest her upper body on Bartolomeo's lap while her butt rested on Ace's lap.

"_Staycalmstaycalmstaycalm, stay calm Ace, damnit.. just pretend not to feel it,_" Ace told himself on the inside, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Bartolomeo felt bad for the guy, knowing full well that could do it if he tried.

Luffy crossed her arms on Bartolomeo's leg and rested her head there, looking towards his bare stomach. She smiled; Bartolomeo was nothing like Lucci, other than long hair and muscle. Otherwise, Bartolomeo ranked at the top of her list, leaving Rob Lucci in the dust at the bottom of the dog pile. Zoro, Ace and Law tied under Bartolomeo on the list, but mind you, Law's calm attentiveness was his most attractive feature, other than his eyes and hair.

Nothing compared with green hair, tattoos and a fun, caring attitude to go with it, though..

"Bartolomeo?"

"Hmm?"

"..I.."

Ace went wide eyed; Bartolomeo blinked.

"..I'm pretty sure that I.. like you?" Luffy said softly, following with a yawn and a sleepy grin; only Luffy could pull off that face after saying something like that. Bartolomeo went red all over and looked over at Ace who looked about ready to strangle someone, and then coughed and calmed himself, giving Bartolomeo a thumbs-up with a lopsided smile.

Luffy blinked up in amusement at Bartolomeo, waiting for an answer of some sort.

Bartolomeo wouldn't dare say anything to set it in stone, so, he pulled up the back of Luffy's shirt and scratched her back; yep, Luffy got the message of mutual liking. Ace smirked at Bartolomeo's flustered expression as he just continued to calmly scratch her back. Her back.. oh yeah, scars.. Ace found himself tracing the lines with his eyes, finding a crude R and L sideways on her lower back.

"R L..." Ace whispered to himself. Luffy perked.

"Ah.. Rob Lucci," Luffy said with a happy tone, oddly enough. Ace felt bad, but he had to ask..

"Was Rob your.."

"Yeah, he was," Luffy said in a suddenly grave tone that made Ace scared, "told me that he was 'just marking his property'. I wonder what I should do about that now.. oh well!"

Ace put his head in his hands, feeling terrible. Bartolomeo put his hand on Ace's shoulder, momentarily distracted from Luffy. Bartolomeo just gave him a forgiving smile in Luffy's place. Ace looked up at Bartolomeo, still feeling at least a little bad, but if Luffy was trying to keep him from being dragged into her miserable past, then fine, he would certainly stay out of it.

"Ne, it's okay for asking. Words don't hurt, but actions do, remember," Luffy told him, smiling down at the ground. Ace felt even more terrible; he did kiss her, after all.

"And Ace?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't feel bad about.. you know.. kissing me. Your little kiss was better than any one of Lucci's ever was.. sorry, Bartolomeo, you've got tough competition."

"Nah, its fine."

Ace was blushing worse than he had ever before.. and he hated it. He shook his head and rubbed his face, eventually leaning face-first into Bartolomeo's shoulder. Bartolomeo only smirked, ruffling Ace's hair like a kid. Speaking of a Kidd..

Bartolomeo heard his phone vibrate from across the room, and raised an eyebrow as to who would text him at 2 A.M. on a Tuesday morning. Luffy heard the phone and almost barked at it, but decided to roll off and get it. So, she rolled off of their laps and over to Bartolomeo's phone on the nightstand, and then rolled back, running into their knees. Ace winced and laughed as she laughed at herself. Handing the phone to Bartolomeo, he was slightly confused.

Kidd had texted him saying that he couldn't get any damned sleep and wondered if Bartolomeo was awake.

Bartolomeo was indeed awake, and so he read the text to the others and they just remained silent, waiting for him to respond.

"_Yeah, I'm awake. How come you can't sleep?" _

"He says, _"damned if I know, but I should be asking you the same thing."_ Lol yes he should be asking, so, what should I say?" Bartolomeo asked, taking suggestions.

Ace said 'orgy'. Luffy said 'Luffy', so, obviously Luffy won on that one.

"_..'Cause of Luffy, says Luffy. Luffy and Ace say hi, by the way lol" _

_"what in the fuck is Ace doing there. you better have a motherfuckin' good reason, brother, or you're hair's gonna be history the next time I see you" _

_"Calm yourself, brother, Ace kissed Luffy, Luffy freaked out, I comforted all and now Luffy likes me. so. yeah. all's well in the world, my friend! XD" _

_"dude, your not fooling me" _

_"I'm not kidding! Wanna hear it from Luffy? Ace and her are like best friends! Here... hold on.." _

_"Bartolomeo.." _

Luffy took the phone and fumbled with it for a minute or so before finally sending it, a grin on her face. Bartolomeo put a hand to his mouth when he read it.

"_Ne, this is Luffy! So, yeah, Ace kissed me (and it was just a cute, sweet kiss though! XD) but, then Bartolomeo popped outta nowhere and knocked him out for a few hours. After he woke up, we danced together while Bartolomeo was taking a shower, and, he's way up on my guy-list now! But, Bartolomeo's #1. :D Do you believe me more than him, Eustass-sama~? ;P " _

Ace was tired of seeing Bartolomeo laugh over the message when he hadn't even read it, so he plucked the phone out of his hands and started reading it and then felt his face burst into flames, so he gave it back and held his face for a while. Luffy poked his cheek, biting her lip. Ace only got more flustered and gave her a quick hug, soon shrinking back to knees-to-chest position.

"_Ace.. you sonofabitch. Goddamn lucky and goddamn unlucky at the same time. your in for another beating when you get back here" _Kidd replied, putting a hand to his face before falling back in his bed and passing out. Well, that settled his problem. Now..

"I don't wanna go back to school again.." Ace whispered after Bartolomeo read the message aloud. Bartolomeo and Luffy laughed at him and Ace soon warmed up to laughing. And... then he clocked outta-work and passed out, falling onto Bartolomeo's shoulder on the way down. Bartolomeo blinked down at him while Luffy screeched and scuffled over to him, sitting him back up and shaking him to maybe wake him up. He was out like a light.

"I think he died," Luffy whispered in all seriousness to Bartolomeo with a look of pure dread while Bartolomeo had to hold his tongue. He let a small giggle escape but managed mainly to stay quiet. He shook his head instead and pulled her hands off of Ace's shoulders. Luffy blinked at Ace, waving her hand in front of his face; no reaction. She poked his nose; no movement. She inspected his freckles up close after suddenly discovering them when Ace's eyes flicked open, catching Luffy's eyes only an inch away. She blinked. Ace wasn't sure if he could blink or not, so he didn't, and wondered what the hell happened.

"Bartolomeo, what just happened?" he asked frantically, looking as far sideways as possible.

"Uh, I think you just passed out," Bartolomeo replied calmly. Luffy sat back a little farther, still only maybe half a foot away. Ace finally blinked and sighed from relief.

"Either way, uh, what were we talking about before?" he asked, rubbing his head as if lightheaded. Luffy blinked at him.

"Not wanting to go back to school.." Luffy answered, poking Ace's nose again. Ace blinked.

"Oh yeah. Why... uhhh...oh yeah, something with Kidd. Kidd.. was gonna punch me, oh yeah, I remember now. Yeah, I don't want to get knocked out again anytime soon, thank you," Ace finished shakily, laughing awkwardly as he looked down at his hands.

The three sat in silence.

"Who wants to sleep~?" Luffy asked, yawning soon after. The other two yawned with her, raising their hands in agreement. Luffy nodded with a smile and fell over into Ace's lap, asleep in an instant. Ace froze. Bartolomeo blinked.. and then burst out laughing.

"How can someone fall asleep that quickly? My god!" Bartolomeo joked, standing up from the ground and stretching. Ace still didn't know what to do, so Bartolomeo stepped over Luffy and picked her up off of Ace and put her in his bed again, pulling the covers up to her shoulder again. She smiled in her sleep and held onto his wrist for a while until finally letting go. Bartolomeo ran a hand through her hair and planted a kiss on her forehead before hauling Ace and himself downstairs to the living room to sleep, or whatever.

* * *

"So. Do you really wanna sleep?" Ace asked Bartolomeo, sitting on the couch next to him. Then, his stomach growled.. Ace grinned sheepishly. Following this, at almost the same time, the two remembered that they hadn't had dinner the night before.. probably due to the fact that Bartolomeo's mom was gone for the week visiting 'an old friend'. Bartolomeo look at Ace. He nodded; they would be getting up the next morning to make Luffy breakfast.

Meanwhile, answering Ace's question, Bartolomeo shrugged and sat back on the couch, legs spread out in extreme comfort while Ace, being the dwarf of the two, sat normally with feet flat on the ground; then, he decided that cross-legged was the way to go.

"I'm tired.. and it is like 2:30. Let's get some sleep.." Bartolomeo yawned, swinging his legs up onto Ace's lap, which made the brunette give him a questioning glare.

"Move your legs down by this side of me, no, the outside-side, gosh hold on," Bartolomeo swung his legs over Ace's head and down by his back, 'there! Now put your legs over here, perfect. Body heat is the best kind of blanket, don't you know?"

Ace shook his head with a smirk, turning onto the opposite side as Bartolomeo.

Soon, both were asleep, and by the time that Luffy came wandering down again, Ace was already dreaming of Kill la Kill x Trigun scenes.

Walking towards the couch, Luffy noticed that Bartolomeo had woken up and had his arm bent back towards her, as if to help her onto the couch. Luffy giggled and took his hand, stepping over Ace to wedge right between Bartolomeo and the couch. It was awkward readjusting, but once Luffy was pretty much hugging Bartolomeo, she fell asleep and was soon dreaming the same thing as Ace.

Getting up in the morning would be interesting...

* * *

~ + thanks for reading! omg im tired now.. XD + ~ _updated note: I was... like, I don't know, high when I wrote this, as you could probably tell XD sleep deprivation for me means going insane, like so.. and a lot of laughing, so there. XD + ~_


	6. Chapter 6

Sudden Complications of Life

**6.**

"Zoro! Guess what?!"

Luffy laughed and jumped at Zoro, making the poor green-haired student drop all his books to keep Luffy from breaking her tailbone.

"Geez! What now? Did you fall asleep walking to school?"

"No! Me, Ace and Bartolomeo played hooky yesterday.." Luffy whispered to Zoro, as if her actions could be punishable by death. Zoro blinked and shrugged, putting Luffy back down in the chair next to him before picking up his books. Bartolomeo, meanwhile, walked calmly into the sleepy classroom after Luffy and sat down in the desk next to her.

"You rebels," Zoro told the two as he sat down facing them, "but..," Zoro leaned in close, "Ace was.. with you?"

The three exchanged glances, silently communicating thoughts.

"Wait till lunch," Bartolomeo mouthed to Zoro as the teacher came walking up to the front of the classroom. Luffy was once more in focus-mode, and Zoro cast her a sideways glance of curiosity before, with a sigh, he decided to focus too.

* * *

The day before...

Bartolomeo had rolled over in his sleep, leaving Luffy to press against his warm back, and Ace had gotten up and sleepwalked for a while before returning miraculously to the couch, only to fall sideways against Bartolomeo's chest. So, Luffy's chest to Bartolomeo's back; Bartolomeo's chest to Ace's back, and Ace's chest to air. Ace shivered.

And so, after this had all occurred, Ace awoke by the combination of three things, with the first being a patch of early-morning sunlight blinding him. The second reason was the fact that he hadn't fallen asleep with a blanket on him, therefore causing slight discomfort due to the chilly morning air the wove through the open windows. Finally, the third reason was due to Bartolomeo's unintentional boner that was pressing against his ass; Ace yawned and rubbed his arms, studying his options.

He decided eventually that he still needed more sleep and just wanted to get up when the other two did, but Bartolomeo and his dang problem weren't exactly helping the poor guy's plans.

"_I'll just... I'll just roll over maybe, since I really don't want to wake him up.." _Ace told himself, trying not to feel what was happening down south. Ace flipped over gently as possible, and nearly fell off in the process, and clinging onto Bartolomeo's arm to steady himself. Ace froze and waited, scarcely breathing; Bartolomeo only groaned a little. Relieved, Ace tried not to be too up-against the green-haired one, but found himself snuggling just as he was drifting off to sleep again.

Bartolomeo smirked and wondered what he should do to Ace.. scare him? Wake him up? Push him off? Pull down his boxers and _then _push him off the couch? The possibilities were endless. With a yawn, Bartolomeo put his arm around Ace slowly, gently, and rested his arm there for a while.. and then pinched his nipple.

Ace awoke abruptly, groaning an absolutely un-manly tone which almost made Bartolomeo laugh, but, to pull off his trick he had to hold still. Playing off his action, Bartolomeo pretended to be sleep-moving and just slid his hand back down to Ace's waist; Ace frowned and looked down at the hand, wondering.. Ace didn't want to take his chances and wanted revenge.

Slowly, Ace reached his hand down and let it linger just in front of Bartolomeo's problem; Bartolomeo didn't dare open his eyes, but he could sense a bad omen on its way. Ace smirked and briefly questioned his orientation, and shook away the thought for another time; he grabbed Bartolomeo right where the sun don't shine.

"Ace... you're dead," Bartolomeo gave up, letting out a groan as he pulled down Ace's boxers and pushed him off the couch.

Meanwhile, Luffy slept on calmly, drooling a little on Bartolomeo's back, (much to the male's dismay)...

* * *

Back to the next day..

"So yeah, Mr. Boner-Bart kept me up for a while there," Ace teased when he sat with the others at lunch, reaching over the table to hit Bartolomeo's arm jokingly. Bartolomeo only ate his lunch in silence, finding himself sitting closer and closer to Luffy as time went on. Luffy barely noticed and continued munching on a sandwich happily while the others laughed and snickered at Ace's story.

"What made you think three people on one couch would be a good idea?" Kidd mumbled with a smirk, downing the rest of the tea in his bottle. Bartolomeo shrugged, scratching the back of his neck.

"What made you think drinking tea would make you look manly?" Bartolomeo countered, pointing down at Kidd's bottle. Killer bit his lip.

"Oooh, shots fired.." Ace whispered, leaning in closely as Kidd stared down Bartolomeo till they both shrugged and went back to eating. Ace sweatdropped, feeling extremely disappointed that there wasn't a fight. Luffy looked up from her sandwich as Kidd then shot a 'tch' and a glare Ace's way, making the rest of the table look off to the side and pretend not to notice the hate that floated in the air. Zoro said nothing and contemplated the freckled-one's whole involvement with Luffy.

"So.." Zoro mumbled, leaning on the table casually while he gave them his usual uninterested gaze, "I still don't get why _you_ got suddenly so buddy-buddy with _them_." He pointed to the appointed people, first to Ace, then to Bartolomeo and Luffy. Kidd nodded and rolled his eyes from down-table. Ace blinked. Bartolomeo looked to Ace, then looked at Kidd and Killer, and then down at Luffy who blinked innocently up at him. Luffy had been oddly quiet...

_Better make this quick.. _Bartolomeo thought to himself, biting his lip. He twirled a strand of green hair around his finger while he thought rapidly.

"_He, _kissed _her. She _cried, and _I _cheered _her_ up. _I _told _him her _story, and so then _he _felt bad and made up with _her_," he explained, pointing between Luffy, Ace and himself. Zoro blinked in mild amusement and raised an eyebrow. Kidd did the same and looked across the table at Luffy, who blinked up at the red-head and then grinned. She gave him a confirming giggle.

"Sometimes I wonder 'bout you," Kidd mumbled, tossing Luffy a slice of ham which disappeared before it even reached her hands; she blinked up at him innocently and then smiled. Kidd and Killer smirked, tossing a glance towards Ace who was rubbing the back of his neck.

"You know.. ehe, he left a lot out of that story.." Ace mumbled, not daring to meet anyone's eye; that's good, because they all rolled their eyes, including Luffy.

* * *

"Choose your partners, now, quietly."

Everyone who was everyone latched onto some other pre-chosen person except Ursula and another tall guy by the name of Basil Hawkins; yes, like the weird edible leafy stuff, and yes, the last name of the main character in_ Treasure Island._Besides this, Basil was.. interesting, to say the least. He was tall, with long blonde hair, and only spoke when one of his prophesies was close to being fulfilled, such as at that moment.

"This morning, I knew I would be left with a stranger," Basil said blandly to Ursula as he met her at a table, and they both sat down in silence. Ursula looked up at Basil as the teacher explained their experiment, and went so far as to leaning very close and observing his healthy hair before he shot her a glance, sending her back into vertical-mode.

"You are to become my acquaintance today," Basil explained, turning to Ursula as the teacher stopped her explanations and sat down behind her desk. Ursula blinked up at him, looking very much like Luffy, and then shrugged with a smirk.

"Okay. Why not?"

Minutes later, Bartolomeo had picked up on the other partners' conversation, and the green-haired one was thoroughly amused by it. "Looks like Ursula has a thing for voodoo-man," he pointed out to Luffy half way through to class, and so both he and Luffy observed the other partners for a short while, and realized that it was almost completely a one-sided relationship.

"He looks like he's zoning-out," Luffy noted, making Bartolomeo look up to watch the blonde. She was mainly right, well, in the sense that Basil really did 'look' like he wasn't paying attention, when really, he was just taking in Ursula's stories and Ursula seemed to enjoy the short responses and sighs that he gave her; 'Twas the beginning of an odd friendship..

Towards the end of class, as everyone had finished what had to be done in that class period, Ursela, Basil, Luffy and Bartolomeo sat at the back of the room, chatting casually. However, Ursula seemed to have something stuck on her mind, and Basil poked her shoulder to let her know she was destined to speak. Ursula tilted her head, thinking...

"Hey Luffy.."

"Hmm~?"

"How do you feel about Nami?"

Luffy paused and thought for a moment. "Carefully? Um..." -Everyone sighed.

"I mean, is Nami your friend, close friend, best friend? Or.. you sometimes talk to her, and really don't care," Ursula clarified, making slight hand-motions to try and feel the rolling of her thoughts. This provoked a great deal of clink-clacking in Luffy's head, as the machine known as her brain chugged at a higher speed than normal. Luffy put a finger to her chin and studied the ceiling.

"She's okay. She sometimes annoys me because she freaks out over everything, and really doesn't seem to pay attention to me, so I don't know. Nami's just... Nami."

Ursula and Basil nodded, while Bartolomeo folded his arms and thought about Luffy's description.. knowing that was the perfect definition of Nami.

* * *

Bartolomeo and Luffy walked into the Spanish room, relatively quieter than usual, and received the attention that came with being oddly quiet. Law blinked and spotted Luffy, taking note of everything about her at that moment: fair skin, curious round eyes, holding books at chest over her anchor t-shirt, jean-shorts and sandals with gloriously unkempt, soft, black hair. Luffy turned as she looked around at everyone while they eyed her back, and she finally came to meet Law in the eye.

Law had been leaning against his desk with one hand, legs loosely crossed as he held his head at a downward angle, sending her a smirk with amused golden-eyes locking with hers. Luffy blinked and broke the staring contest as Bartolomeo shoved her toward a desk in the back row. Law followed her and Bartolomeo with his eyes as he walked over to the windows in the room, and leaned back on the air vent. Law tilted his head backwards and looked out the window, squinting due to the bright sunlight that bathed his face and hair in warmth. Luffy stared curiously at him...

"Oi, Luffy," Bartolomeo mumbled, pulling Luffy down into her seat next to him. Luffy looked at him with a far-off gaze, not paying real attention to him. He waved his hand in front of her face, then closer, then finally pulled her nose to get her up and running again.

"Huh?" she asked, looking around like she missed something important while Bartolomeo smacked his palm to his face, "what'd you say?"

"Didn't say anything yet," he started, looking off to the side, "but.." he took Luffy's shoulders in his hands and turned her towards the sun-bathing Law. Luffy looked at Law, then back up at Bartolomeo. "Do you like Law?" Luffy blinked and looked at Bartolomeo's eyes, which looked.. hard to read.

"In what way?" Luffy asked, looking away from Bartolomeo.

"Luffy, You know which way.."

"Do I?"

"Oh, attitude..so you do like him, that Trafalgar Law!"

"I do not..!"

"Liar, liar, Luffy, you're a little chubby-cheeked liar!" Bartolomeo teased, pulling on Luffy's cheeks while she became flustered and smacked his hands away, folding her arms moodily as she turned away from the green-haired teenager.

"So what if I think he's.. pretty?" Luffy huffed, puffing out her cheeks and sending a sideways glance towards Law who could hear it all and caught Luffy's eyes again. He smiled.

Bartolomeo frowned, looking over at Law as Luffy was transfixed; Bartolomeo turned her back around to face him and he pulled her against his shoulder with one arm. Luffy blinked up at him. Bartolomeo looked up at the blackboard, not even catching Luffy's gaze.

The light wavered as a cloud passed over the sun, absorbing the sunlight like a sponge would water, and the classroom went from unorderly to a calm, peaceful atmosphere. The students all quieted down and looked out the window, watching two sparrows fly by the building, tweeting playfully at each other. Bartolomeo closed his eyes, the light eased back in, leaving a warm-peace around the class, and he soon opening his eyes again.

"It's not bad to think he's a pretty person, but be careful how you judge their beauty," Bartolomeo told her, looking off. Law folded his arms, narrowed his eyes, and shrugged as he took his seat for class.

_Best try not to upset anyone involved.. _Law told himself, tapping his pen absentmindedly.

Bartolomeo looked down at Luffy after a while and Luffy looked back at him. Luffy thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded, giving him a quick hug before scooting her chair back over to her own desk.

Their desks were touching by the end of class.

* * *

"Hey, Bartolomeo!"

"Yeah, what's up Luffy?"

"Do you wanna help me with math afterschool~?"

"Sure."

"Hey, hey, can I join too? I don't get it!"

"Ace.. you're hopeless, and yeah, sure."

"Yay!"  
"Yay!"

* * *

~ + there. theres the update. XD ive been fairy busy with school lately, and add that extra stuff to my normal interests and hobbies and what do you get? a whole lot of no-time. so. fanfiction isn't my main priority, so, yeah. im gonna be writing a lot of stuff, writing new chapters for old stories, and i'll unleash it all in the summer. so, summer = updates, updates everywhere~ + ~


End file.
